Weight loss, aging, genetics, and one or more pregnancies can all negatively affect the appearance of the midsection. If loose skin and stubborn fat are the defining features of your stomach, know that the waistline of your dreams is within your reach thanks to the tummy tuck. At Athena Plastic Surgery in Stuart, FL, we offer this body contouring procedure as a way to redefine your midsection, increase your confidence, and finally pull out that bikini.
What Is the Best Age for a Tummy Tuck?
When it comes to addressing your midsection through a tummy tuck, age does play a factor, but other important factors take precedence in determining when to choose this procedure. Most women who choose this procedure are in their late 30s, early 40s, or beyond. However, when it comes to your age, as long as you are committed to maintaining results, don’t plan on getting pregnant again, and are in good health, any age is the right age.
You Are Done Having Children
If you are of childbearing age but do not plan to have any more children, you are the right age for a tummy tuck. Additional pregnancies post-procedure can sabotage your results. Pregnancy leads to excess skin, and this procedure aims to remove excess skin and fat to tighten the midsection. An additional pregnancy after undergoing this procedure will ruin the results and require additional treatment to repair results.
You Are Middle-Aged or Beyond and Want to Address Loose Skin
If genetics, multiple pregnancies, or a significant weight loss has led to loose skin in your midsection that makes you feel discouraged about your appearance, you are the right age for a tummy tuck. This procedure can make your current midsection look more like your 20-year-old midsection. It will reduce excess skin and fat and tighten the entire area so that you feel more confident in a swimsuit, regardless of your age.
You Are in Your 20s or 30s and Want a Tighter Midsection
You don’t have to be middle-aged to qualify for this procedure. Some patients choose to undergo a tummy tuck in their 20s or 30s to improve the appearance of their midsection that has been negatively affected by genetic factors or significant weight loss. However, if you choose to undergo this procedure and get pregnant later in life, your results will be negatively affected.
When it comes down to it, age is not a significant factor in determining the ideal candidates for this procedure. There are other factors to consider, including lifestyle, current health, and ultimate goals. During your initial consultation, we’ll help determine if you are a candidate for this procedure.
What Is a Tummy Tuck?
A tummy tuck is a procedure that is technically called an abdominoplasty. It is designed to target and treat loose or excess skin in the midsection and excess fat. It involves the surgical restructuring of the entire midsection and will address excess skin, excess fat and can repair and restructure the abdominal muscles. One aspect of abdominoplasty that makes it so versatile is that we can customize it to your goals.
We can perform a full or partial abdominoplasty or tummy tuck based on your needs. Patients with a significant amount of skin laxity throughout their entire midsection and excess fat will benefit from a full abdominoplasty. Patients who have a lesser degree of skin laxity, primarily in the lower region below the belly button, can benefit from a partial abdominoplasty that simply addresses the lower half of the stomach.
What Causes Loose Skin?
Different factors can affect the appearance of the midsection and can result in loose skin. Aging, pregnancy, weight changes, and genetics can all stretch the skin, which leads to an unattractive appearance. Diet changes, regular exercise, and liposuction can all work together to help remove stubborn fat from the midsection. Still, there is nothing outside of this particular procedure that can effectively remove excess skin from the midsection.
What Happens During the Procedure?
Your Consultation
The first step in this process is an initial consultation with our surgeon. Your consultation is an important step because it helps you get to know us, and vice versa. Our surgeon will review your health history during your initial consultation to confirm that this procedure is right for you.
Then, he will review the different aspects involved with the procedure so that we can create a treatment plan that he will then carry out during surgery. He will listen to your goals and help design a plan that will help you reach your goals.
Your Procedure
This treatment plan will help you reach all of your individual goals, whether that’s fat and excess skin removal, skin tightening, abdominal strengthening, or all of the above. During the procedure, he will then reconstruct the midsection, reshape the muscle tissue, remove fatty deposits and excess loose skin.
Once your procedure is complete, you will begin the recovery process. After a few weeks of rest and recovery, you will be able to enjoy your flatter, tighter midsection.
What Kind of Results Can I Expect?
After your procedure is complete, you can expect a recontoured midsection that is flatter and firmer than your former midsection. Your waistline will be smaller, and your stomach will be tighter.
Are Results Permanent?
The results from this procedure are intended to be permanent. Once excess fat is removed from your midsection, it will be gone for good. Once your skin is tightened, it will remain tight as long as you do not get pregnant or gain and lose a significant amount of weight.
Maintaining Your Results
The best way to maintain your results is to schedule this procedure when you know you will not get pregnant again and can live a healthy diet lifestyle. Regular exercise and a healthy diet, in addition to adequate hydration, will go a long way in maintaining skin elasticity and supporting a healthy weight.
The ideal patients for this procedure are those who are committed to maintaining their results post-procedure so that they can enjoy the results for as long as possible. When patients go into this surgery committed to maintaining a healthy lifestyle post-op, they will enjoy their results forever.
What Are the Benefits of a Tummy Tuck?
It Makes Your Stomach Look Better
The number one benefit of this procedure is that it helps create a flat, slim midsection. Our surgeon uses liposuction to remove excess fat as needed and tightens the skin after removing that excess, sagging skin that keeps you from looking and feeling your best. It can also reconstruct the abdominal muscles and close any gaps that have developed due to diastasis recti due to pregnancy.
You Can Stop Doing Crunches
This procedure helps do what your ab workouts have been unable to. When excess fat sits on top of toned muscle, your stomach still looks less than desirable. Additionally, building excess muscle and strengthening your core without losing that stubborn fat can make your stomach look even bigger. This procedure takes the need for crunches out of the equation.
No longer will you have to perform repetitive crunches or ab exercises in the hopes of achieving a tight and toned midsection. However, you will see more muscle definition post-procedure. Any abdominal workouts that you perform to further tighten and tone the area after your procedure will make your stomach look that much better.
You Can Eat Normal Food Again
Stubborn fat is called stubborn for a reason: it doesn’t budge. If you’ve been eating a next-to-nothing diet in an attempt to lose stubborn fat in your stomach area, you can go back to living a healthy lifestyle, not starving yourself. Liposuction is the most effective way to immediately remove stubborn fat from the midsection that is unresponsive to diet and exercise.
If you choose to undergo liposuction or during your procedure, you will finally be rid of that stubborn fat for good. You won’t have to endure another fad diet in an attempt to lose excess abdominal fat. You will get the results you’ve always wanted, and all you have to do to maintain them is live a balanced and healthy lifestyle, not follow a starvation diet.
It Repairs the Muscles
Pregnancy can take a toll on the abdominal muscles, and for some women, it can lead to irreparable damage. However, the tummy tuck can repair the abdominal muscles by restructuring them, making them look and feel better. You will have stronger muscles, and as you strengthen them through toning moves, you will continue to see more muscle definition over time.
It Gives You Increased Confidence
When you’re not happy with your midsection, it can cause you to feel self-conscious in certain clothing, especially bathing suits. If you’ve spent years hiding your body because you’re not happy with how your stomach looks after pregnancy or a significant weight loss, this procedure will change everything.
Women who once hid behind an oversized T-shirt can wear a bikini with pride post-procedure. A slimmer, tighter midsection can make all the difference in your confidence, both on and off the beach.
Am I a Candidate?
Ideal candidates for abdominoplasty should meet certain qualifications. As with any elective surgical procedure, it is of utmost importance that patients are healthy before undergoing the procedure. Good health will ensure that they get the best outcome during the procedure and recovery process. Candidates for this procedure have excess skin and fat that they cannot address through liposuction alone or diet and lifestyle changes.
Additionally, ideal candidates will understand the importance of maintaining results. They should know before undergoing the procedure that getting pregnant post-procedure will negatively impact results. They should have realistic expectations about their procedure, recovery process, and their results. Also, the best candidates for treatment should be at or near their goal weight.
The Importance of a Healthy Weight
Abdominoplasty is a body contouring procedure; it is not a weight-loss procedure. It is designed to fine-tune the abdominal area, not help those who qualify as obese lose weight. If you have loose skin and excess body fat in your abdominal area, are at a healthy weight, but cannot seem to reach your goals through lifestyle changes, you most likely qualify as a candidate for this procedure.
Take the First Step Today
If you want to learn more about this effective procedure, don’t wait another minute. Contact us today at Athena Plastic Surgery in Stuart, FL, and schedule your initial consultation with our surgeon so that we can design the perfect treatment plan that will help you reach your aesthetic goals and showcase your midsection with pride.