A Mini Tummy Tuck Might Restore Your Pre-Pregnancy Shape

Your body, especially your abdominal area, undergoes profound changes during pregnancy. Even after you've delivered your baby and returned to your ideal body weight, you may have a protruding abdomen that can't be fixed through dieting and exercise. A mini tummy tuck procedure might be able to help. Here's what causes your stomach to sag and protrude and how this surgery corrects the problem.

What Causes The Stomach Bulge After Pregnancy

You may have a problem with loose skin after pregnancy. When your abdomen enlarges, your skin is stretched. When your abdomen shrinks, your skin may not shrink all the way with it. When your skin isn't tight, it can sag and allow your stomach to bulge a little. Your skin may tighten up some over time, but exercise won't do anything to fix the problem. Another reason for your stomach bulge could be excess fat in the area that you just can't lose. Even if you're back to your ideal weight, the fat may be distributed differently.

Also, your muscles may be stretched, weak, or torn. When your muscles are affected, they can't hold your stomach tight, and you'll develop a bulge.

How A Mini Tummy Tuck Helps

Spot reduction of fat is difficult, but it can be achieved with liposuction. If your skin and muscles are tight, then liposuction alone might restore your body shape. If your skin is loose too, then a mini tummy tuck combined with liposuction may be necessary to restore your flat stomach.

Your doctor can choose a regular tummy tuck or a mini tummy tuck. There are advantages to the mini option, but you must be a suitable candidate. A mini tummy tuck works on problems below your belly button. If your entire abdomen has loose skin or muscle damage, then a traditional tummy tuck is probably a better choice.

A mini tummy tuck uses smaller incisions and is quicker to recover from. It can also be done with a local anesthetic rather than general anesthesia. With this procedure, the surgeon removes loose skin, does minor surgical repairs of your muscles, and can perform liposuction to get rid of excess fat. Since skin is removed, the procedure might get rid of stretch marks too. The result is a restored shape that gives you a flat stomach again.

You might be able to go back to work in a few days after a mini tummy tuck, but it depends on the type of work you do. Your activities will be restricted until you've healed properly. Although you may not like the thought of having surgery, a mini tummy tuck is much less involved than a traditional tummy tuck procedure, so it is easier to endure and recover from. It could be the only way to regain your flat abdomen after it has been stretched out from pregnancy and weight gain.

For more information, contact a local clinic like Dr. Anh Lee Plastic Surgery

Share