Abdominoplasty (tummy tuck)

A wide variety of situations may have prompted your consultation: significant excess skin, stretch marks after repeated pregnancies, a firm but overly round abdomen with excess fat, or an abdomen that protrudes forward after a few pregnancies even though there is no significant excess of fat or skin.

Analysis of the deformity

The following must therefore be assessed:

• the patient’s posture and spine,
• the muscle tone of the abdominal wall, looking for any separation (diastasis recti) seen after pregnancies,
• the intra-abdominal volume,
• the fat layer,
• the quantity and quality of the skin.

Possible operations

• simple liposuction in the case of isolated excess fat, through 1 or 2 tiny incisions. Moderate excess skin will retract.
• a mini abdominoplasty, which generally combines liposuction with removal of the excess skin above the pubis only, which amounts to adding a scar (fairly low) just above the pubis.
• a classic abdominoplasty, which consists of removing most of the excess skin by pulling it downwards. A long horizontal scar extending into the groin fold on each side of the pubis is unavoidable, sometimes combined with a short vertical scar. There is also a scar around the navel, which stays in place. Liposuction is often combined with the abdominoplasty for the upper abdomen, and the abdominal muscles are corrected if necessary.