You have lost a lot of weight and now you find your belly unattractive? A tummy tuck surgery can help you to tighten your middle. But how does a tummy tuck work and how much does it cost?
You've just lost a lot of weight or you've been pregnant? In any case, your skin on the abdomen has stretched. What remains even after losing weight is the excess of skin.
So you thought you'd find out about a tummy tuck. We have all info around Tighten abdominal wall put together for you.
You'll learn in this post,
- for whom a tummy tuck is suitable,
- How abdominal surgery works,
- what you need to consider after a tummy tuck,
- how costly the intervention is,
- what the risks are when tightening the abdominal wall,
- whether you can see a scar from it,
- and whether the belly always stays flat.
Table of contents
How does too much skin on the belly actually develop?
Various situations in life can put excessive stress on the tissues of the abdomen. These include pregnancies as well as a strong weight gain with subsequent weight loss.
Wrinkled, excess skin occurs when you lose a lot of weight quickly. This happens especially during diets and pregnancies. Normally, your body adapts.
That is, not every pregnant woman is burdened with sagging skin after giving birth. Likewise, not every person who loses a lot of weight is affected by the problem.
Every skin has an individual stress limit. And this is different for everyone. One woman survives 3 pregnancies without problems and the other has an abdominal wall that no longer tightens after the first child.
If you have exceeded the limit of the load for your belly, the excess tissue does not form back again. Even sports and a healthy diet won't help.
In that case a corrective Abdominoplasty help. As the name suggests, it tightens the skin of your abdominal wall.
Tummy tuck surgery will make you feel comfortable in your body again. If you feel very uncomfortable with the excess skin and fat pads, it will negatively affect your self-confidence.
Tummy tuck: For whom is it suitable and for whom not?
Basically you should work with healthy diet and plenty of exercise keep the skin elastic. Above all, sport contributes significantly to this.
Force and Endurance exercises increase the resilience of the body. This also includes the skin tissue.
Nevertheless, there are people and situations in life for which sport is no longer enough. Many women suffer from a wrinkled belly after one or more pregnancies, which does not disappear despite intensive training. For them, the Abdominoplasty represent an option.
Formerly overweight people also benefit from abdominal surgery after weight loss. When athletic training no longer helps, tightening the abdominal wall can help achieve a flat stomach.
Abdominal surgery procedure
What is the procedure for a tummy tuck? An abdominoplasty is always performed under anesthesia. You are fully anesthetized and do not notice anything about the operation.
Several methods are available for abdominal surgery. Experienced surgeons will inform you about the procedure and risks during a preliminary consultation.
There are Three variants the Abdominoplasty to choose from. Which one is right for you depends on whether you have a little, a lot or a lot of excess skin on your stomach.
- If there is little tissue, the surgery is limited to the area between the belly button and the pubic bone.
- A lot of excess tissue requires surgery on the entire abdomen. The surgeons will reposition your belly button.
- If there is a very large amount of excess skin, a vertical incision on the abdomen is necessary.
In each case, the surgeon first marks the areas to the Tighten abdominal wall. After that you get a Anesthesia.
Then excess fat is removed, the skin and muscles are tightened. Modern technology allows to adjust the belly button.
How long does the surgery take and how long is the recovery?
The operation for a flat stomach generally takes about two to three hours. Of course, this depends on how much skin needs to be removed.
Two to three days of hospitalization are also necessary. After the operation you have to plan another 6 weeks until your abdomen is fully loadable.
You can start with sports at the earliest 6 weeks after the abdominoplasty.
What you need to keep in mind after the surgery
Doctors often use self-dissolving sutures. This saves you from having to "pull stitches" later. However, this is not always the case. Until the follow-up examination and/or overnight removal, the wound is covered with a sterile dressing.
The bandage is fixed with compression bandage. After the abdominal surgery you need to wear a special bodice. This way the doctors make sure that the suture heals cleanly.
It is perfectly normal that you feel less on your abdomen for a certain time. A few months after the tummy tuck, this should subside.
The first time after the abdominal surgery, you must sleep with your upper body elevated and your legs bent. When sitting up, you must be very careful not to open the stitches.
You may only shower and bathe after the stitches have been removed. Until then, it is called: cat wash.
How much does a tummy tuck cost?
Since a flat, toned abdomen is mainly a matter of aesthetics, it is usually a cosmetic surgery, also called plastic surgery.
The costs vary from clinic to clinic. The surgeon performing the operation also plays a role in the cost calculation. The more experienced the surgeon, the more expensive the operation can be. On average, abdominoplasty costs about 5000 euros ± 2000 euros.
Why is it so expensive?
The cost of abdominoplasty is about 5,000 euros, but why is it so expensive? For a tightening operation of the abdominal wall, the extent of the operation and the duration influence the price. In advance, the preliminary examination and the consultation are already included in the costs. The operation itself incurs costs for
- the anesthesiologist
- the tightening of the abdomen
- the plastic surgeon
- the operating room as well as the surgical team including the necessary technology
After the operation, the medical aftercare and the special dressing complete the cost calculation.
Who pays the costs?
Does the health insurance pay for a tummy tuck? This question is asked by many who have planned an abdominal surgery.
In principle, the health insurance company will cover interventions that are medically necessary. In the case of severe restrictions on normal life, the health insurance may support you under certain circumstances. However, this is not the rule.
Psychological reports and medical diagnoses can help you to get part of the costs reimbursed. However, when it comes to tightening the abdominal wall, the chances are slim that the health insurance will cover it. Many clinics therefore offer special options for financing.
What are the risks of tummy tuck?
Every operation is associated with risks. Problems can occur both during an operation and afterwards. Many factors play a role.
Personal lifestyle (smoking, alcohol consumption, diet) or too early stress after surgery are among them.
Infections caused by the careless introduction of germs are a risk factor that requires special attention. To prevent complications and further infections, detailed preoperative and postoperative care is important.
Do you see a scar after abdominal surgery?
Modern surgery is amazingly inconspicuous. There are more and more methods and techniques to keep scarring to a minimum.
A tummy tuck is far from being the same as a facelift. Nevertheless, it is also possible here to leave a barely visible scar.
Especially in the case of a tightening that is limited to the area between the pubic bone and the belly button, scars can be easily hidden under underwear or a bikini.
Does the abdomen always remain flat after tummy tuck?
Before the operation, you may already be wondering whether the surgery will be worth it in the long term. Logically, such a tummy tuck is also really expensive.
Does a firm abdomen remain even after surgery?
That is entirely up to you! Do you eat a balanced diet and do you exercise? If you can maintain your weight as far as possible, your belly will probably remain flat in the long term.
As soon as you gain weight, the first kilos always go to your stomach and hips. Unfortunately, this is genetically pre-programmed in us women.
So it's quite important that you maintain your body weight and don't gain weight!
Our conclusion
As you can see, experienced surgeons can restore a firm and flat stomach with modern methods. Before you take this step, consider: Are you eating healthy? Do you exercise enough to keep your skin elastic and adaptable? Only when all efforts no longer help, surgery can help you. In any case, a doctor of your choice is the right person to support you.
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