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The Tummy Tuck remains one of the most popular and rewarding plastic surgery procedures. Tummy Tucks, or Abdominoplasties, can restore the abdomen after pregnancy or weight loss. The loose skin, lax muscle and disproportionate lower abdominal fat can all be addressed with this versatile and powerful cosmetic procedure.

Tummy Tuck Before and After Pictures

Tummy tuck before and after pictures: Extra fat and skin are removed, and the protruding abdominal wall muscles are tightened like an internal corset, for a dramatic improvement.

Tummy tuck before and after pictures: Extra fat and skin are removed, and the protruding abdominal wall muscles are tightened like an internal corset, for a dramatic improvement.

The Best Tummy Tucks (Abdominoplasty)

The best Tummy Tucks and Abdominoplasties provide improvements that are not possible by any other means. There is no substitute for a proper diet and regular exercise. Eating right and dieting however, cannot shrink sagging skin or restore tone to muscle that has been overstretched by pregnancy.

Liposuction is a wonderful procedure, but despite what brand name liposuction marketers claim, it cannot significantly shrink skin. The truth is, a small amount of recoil occurs with tumescent liposuction due to the elasticity intrinsic to the skin. Heating the skin with a laser, ultrasound or radio frequency can burn the skin, and cannot change loose skin into tight skin. A Tummy Tuck, on the other hand, does tighten the skin.

Tummy Tucks Shrink Skin

SmartLipo does not shrink skin like a tummy tuck can. Above, multiple folds of redundant skin are smoothed, improving how the belly looks and how clothes fit.

SmartLipo does not shrink skin like a tummy tuck can. Above, multiple folds of redundant skin are smoothed, improving how the belly looks and how clothes fit.

A Tummy Tuck can shrink skin. When there is only a small amount of loose skin, and it is confined to the area below the belly button, a Mini Tummy Tuck can do the job. When the skin is loose above the belly button, the traditional full tummy tuck is just what the doctor ordered.

Tummy Tucks Tighten Muscles

The before picture on the left shows no fat, a little loose skin and significantly loose muscle fascia giving that still a little pregnant look.

The before picture on the left shows no fat, a little loose skin and significantly loose muscle fascia giving that still a little pregnant look.

Another advantage the Tummy Tuck has over Liposuction is the ability to tighten the muscle. Unlike with skin tightening, the muscle is not cut. Instead, the tough layer that surrounds the muscle, the fascia, is synched up. The repair is performed underneath the skin that runs up and down the middle of the abdomen, from rib to pubis, like a corset on the inside.

The Abdominoplasty Before and After Pictures above show little abdominal fat, so Liposuction won’t help. The main problem is over stretched muscle facia and loss of support for the abdominal wall. The result is a bulging belly on a thin woman. She could improve her appearance in clothing by wearing a girdle, but she was not comfortable in tight clothing or in a bikini. A Tummy Tuck, allows her a broader choice of fashion by restoring the natural, internal support of the abdominal wall.

Tummy tuck before and after pictures: The purple ink outlines the skin removed by the abdominoplasty. The internal tightening of the abdominal muscles flattens the belly and bring the rectus muscles back to the middle wear they belong.

Tummy tuck before and after pictures: The purple ink outlines the skin removed by the abdominoplasty. The internal tightening of the abdominal muscles flattens the belly and brings the rectus muscles back to the middle, where they belong.

The front views above show before and after tummy tuck photos of another patient. The skin and fat outlined in purple was removed, and the muscles were tightened in the midline, underneath the skin. Before the Abdominoplasty, the rectus muscles running down the middle of the abdomen are spread apart and allow the gut to protrude. After the Tummy Tuck, the rectus muscles are pulled back together down the middle of the abdomen. The belly is flattened, the linea alba (the slight indentation that runs down the middle) is restored and the sides of the rectus muscles can be seen moved back toward the middle of the abdominal wall where they belong.

Tummy Tuck Information

More information on Tummy Tucks and Abdominoplasties is available by clicking the Tummy Tuck (Abdominoplasty) link listed under Categories in the left column, or following the links in the text above to the DrMele.com web site.

For information specific to your needs, there is no substitute for an in person consultation. Call our San Francisco Bay Area Plastic Surgery office in Walnut Creek now at (925) 943-6353, for a personalized and private Tummy Tuck consultation appointment.

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