What causes patients to require a tummy tuck?

The tummy tuck is one of the best known plastic surgery procedures, with awareness raised thanks to high profiles cases of celebrities opting for this type of operation frequently seen in the media.

So what causes people to require a tummy tuck procedure?

There are several common factors that can leave people feeling that they have too much girth around their waistline. Being overweight or carrying children can result in stubborn fat around the waistline that is hard to shift. Quite often, if skin has been repeatedly stretched (for example multiple pregnancies or yo-yo weight loss/weight gain) then the skin around the tummy loses its natural elasticity and it is harder to return to its original shape or contours.

Some patients may also find that if they have carried excess weight for a long period of time and then successfully dropped the extra pounds, you may find that you’re now carrying excess or sagging skin around your midriff.

What is a tummy tuck and how can it help?

The actual procedure offered by Mr Alan Park is a two- to three-hour operation which involves the following steps:

1. Owing to the scale of the operation, the patient is placed under a general anaesthetic
2. Two incisions are made – one near the belly button and one lower down near the pubic area. Via these incisions, the skin is then separated from the wall of the abdomen
3.  The surgeon then locates the muscles, which are then pulled closer together and stitched together, resulting in a smaller waistline and tighter tummy muscles

This is a significant operation but the results that can be achieved means that many people each year in the UK are opting for a bit of surgical assisting to help restore a lost waistline. The recovery period for such an operation is typically several weeks, so some time off work is required to help the body recover fully.

If you’ve experienced weight loss/gain or have been pregnant and are considering a tummy tuck to help get back into shape, contact Mr Alan Park to talk through your options.