Body

Tummy Tuck

A flat, toned stomach is an attribute that many women consider to belong to their ideal figure. A pregnancy or successful diet, however, is often rewarded by quite the opposite: In many cases, women are confronted by a flabby, sagging stomach. As a consequence of increased fat storage in this region, it can even result in a so called ‘pendulous abdomen’. This phenomenon is even observed in otherwise slim patients. The elasticity and natural tension of the skin are simply no longer capable of creating an aesthetically pleasing, toned appearance. For people with a genetic pre-disposition for weak connective tissue or an over-proportional accumulation of fat around their stomach, the unattractive and bothersome rolls of hanging, flabby skin can be particularly pronounced. Even regular sport and in extreme cases liposuction performed by an aesthetic plastic surgeon may not be enough to flatten and tone the stomach.

For women who find themselves in this position, aesthetic plastic surgery has an operative procedure known as a tummy tuck or abdominoplasty. During the operation, sagging tissue is removed from the lower portion of the stomach. The resulting gaps between navel and pubis are filled in with skin and underlying tissue that is displaced from the area between navel and breast bone. This obviously also requires that the navel be newly positioned. A mini-tummy tuck is also available, whereby individual pads of fat are removed from the lower portion of the stomach. The latter procedure does not involve repositioning of skin and tissue or navel.