What are the things should you know before Tummy Tuck Surgery?

What is Tummy Tuck Surgery?

A tummy tuck surgery is a cosmetic surgical procedure that enhances your abdominal muscle structure to make it look toned and taut and it involves removing extra skin once excess fat is removed. This is to help achieve a sculpted and toned abdominal area.

There are a few things to consider before getting a tummy tuck:

• A tummy tuck surgery requires significant downtime – Your recovery time is longer
• You need to be at a stable weight before your tummy tuck – You need to maintain this before and after your surgery
• A tummy tuck will leave a permanent scar above your pelvic bone – Although this will fade with time, it will not fully disappear
• Surgical drains will be in place for the first week or two – This might be uncomfortable and takes getting used to
• Full healing can take up to a year – This can be accelerated with strict post-operative care

What are the types of Tummy Tuck Surgeries?

The types of a tummy tuck include but is not limited to:

• Extended tummy tuck. This tummy tuck creates the largest scar and due to this, it takes a long time to heal. It will be seen under the bathing suits.
• Complete or classic tummy tuck. In this procedure, the scar stretches throughout the hip and it takes a long time to recover. It is possible for the person to keep the scar out of sight by wearing a bathing suit.
• Mini tummy tuck. This procedure has the shortest recovery time and minimal scarring.

Approximate tummy tuck surgery cost in Chennai!

In terms of tummy tuck surgery cost, you should know that the procedure could range from 2,15,000 INR to over 3,00,000 INR in India depending on the type of tummy tuck procedures and the correction required. 

By now, you would have understood what is tummy tuck surgery, its types, and its cost. Let us discuss some frequently asked questions about the procedure. 

Frequently Asked Questions

1. Are Tummy Tucks safe?

While tummy tuck or abdominoplasty is also known as quite a successful medical procedure and offers to repair damaged and weakened muscles in the abdomen, tighten the stomach, and even ensures long-term results, it is highly recommended that the patient do thorough homework to fully understand the benefits it offers and the risks that come with it, as with any surgery. 

A tummy tuck is a procedure that is considered major and would require two to three weeks to heal, sometimes even longer given the post-surgical care taken and the patients’ mindset to heal. The risks involved in this procedure could be unexpected scarring, Fluid accumulation beneath the skin also referred to as seroma, Poor wound healing, tissue damage, and changes in skin sensation.

An abdominoplasty is a wonderful way to sculpt the figure and shape the body. However, the surgical procedure is not a replacement for weight loss. It is important that you be close to your desired weight for six to twelve months before undergoing a tummy tuck. Most surgeons will recommend patients be between 10-15 pounds/4-9 kilograms from their goal weight. This is essential as losing or gaining extra pounds has chances to affect the contoured shape accomplished through the surgery. Due to weight changes, abdominal tissues can stretch and the person may need an extra procedure to restore the perks of the first procedure.

2. What is the difference between Liposuction and a Tummy Tuck?

A tummy tuck surgery is a more intensive and major procedure compared to liposuction. While liposuction works on removing excess fat from targeted areas in the body, a tummy tuck focuses on reconstructing the abdominal muscles and removing the excess skin after this. 

So a person would choose to process with liposuction if they want small fat deposits commonly found around their hips, buttocks, stomach and thigh removed. This will result in reduced bulges and enhanced contour. Although this procedure is not recommended if a person is obese and is looking to opt for it as a weight-loss tool. 

On the other hand, since a tummy tuck also helps remove excess skin along with removing excess fat (reconstruction), patients who have stretched skin, separated muscles in the abdomen due to pregnancy or other significant weight gains that they have faced. The tummy tuck surgery cost will also be quite different from that of liposuction.

3. What are the benefits of Tummy Tuck Surgery?

There are both plenty of cosmetic benefits to a tummy tuck surgery and medical benefits especially when such a medical corrective intervention is required for some patients. This includes but is not limited to:

• Reducing Stress Urinary Incontinence 
• Correcting ventral hernia
• Reducing/decreasing back pain
• Improving posture by improving the abdominal tone

4. How long will the initial recovery from a Tummy Tuck Surgery take?

While the initial recovery period of the tummy tuck procedure is around 2-3weeks, it may take up to 8 weeks for the person to feel like themselves again. However, recovery time from a tummy tuck will vary from person to person as this depends on the type of tummy tuck, they have opted for (the area covered & amount of reconstruction required), the age of the patient, their postsurgical care, and the overall health and mindset of the patient.

There are a few things that the patient needs to be aware of that will help them prepare mentally and physically for their healing process. 

A Tummy Tuck procedure will leave a permanent scar:

An experienced and skillful plastic surgeon will meticulously make the incision making sure it is placed in an area that can be easily concealed under clothing such as swimsuits and underwear and can’t be easily spotted. However, this incision line will run horizontally above the pubic bone and stretch from hip to hip. While this incision mark is bound to fade over a period of time, it will not completely disappear. Most patients who undergo the tummy tuck surgery are happy with the tone of abdominal muscles and the new posture they have and don’t mind the scar that can be easily hidden. 

The patient will require surgical drains for the initial one or two weeks:

 Proper drainage of blood and other bodily fluids is imperative for healing well, so as to avoid any fluid build-up. Hence proper drains are kept in place for the patient who undergoes abdominoplasty. 

Complete healing may take up to a year:

While initial healing will start even within two to three weeks, there will be certain after-effects of the abdominoplasty procedure that takes getting used to like redness, bruising, stiffness, and swelling which are quite common in many patients. This will usually go away after the initial weeks of the surgery. 

5. Is a Tummy Tuck better than Liposuction?

Tummy tuck and liposuction cater to two different audiences. While liposuction focuses on mild corrections and fat removal in specific areas where fat tends to accumulate (not as a fat loss tool to avoid a healthy lifestyle), tummy tuck as mentioned earlier, helps completely reconstruct ones’ abdominal muscles which forms the core of one’s body that holds the spine erect resulting in better posture and helps all other muscles and joints like the pelvic bone and the pelvic floor muscles, the back, the shoulder and neck all function effectively. If you are still confused, you can watch a tummy tuck surgery video and the liposuction video might help understand the difference better. 

The tummy tuck surgery cost in Chennai may start from 1,50,000 INR and may vary/go up based on each individual and their needs.

6. What is the difference between a full Tummy Tuck and a mini Tummy Tuck?

While a full tummy tuck can completely help restructure and recreate your muscle structure around the abdomen giving great skin tightening and making it beautiful, it does require a longer incision from hip to hip. A mini tummy tuck on the other hand can be done with a shorter incision which is less visible or obvious but is only recommended for patients who don’t require major correction. However, this is not the only difference between the two procedures. 

The difference can be a bit confusing as when you study the full tummy tuck and mini tummy tuck procedures. The procedure of the mini tummy tuck medically also refers to removing some skin in the lower abdomen without disturbing the area around the belly button either through incision or tightening. Where-as a full or standard tummy tuck or abdominoplasty does involve removing of the fat (excess skin) from the pubic bone till the navel and also involved work in the areas above and below the belly button to tighten the skin offering an overall firm and fat look to the abdomen. 

 Understanding this difference plays an important part in the choice the patient makes and the results that are achieved. If you want to know exactly how much tummy tuck surgery cost, please consult with your cosmetologist.

7. What are some tips for fast recovery after a Tummy Tuck/abdominoplasty procedure?

• Get plenty of rest. No rest is too much, listen to your body during the recovery period and take it slow
• Include plenty of high protein foods, fluids, and water for smoother and faster tummy tuck recovery
• Although drainage tube will be fitted to the patient for the initial few weeks for fluid drainage, consider lymphatic drainage messages
• Driving immediately after surgery (on the way home) and excessive physical work is to be avoided as the patient needs to drain the fluids and keep track of the quantity of drainage initially
• Patients with young children will need to get help for childcare responsibilities and it is advised to take off from work to focus on recovery especially if the patient’s work is strenuous
• Exercise unless specified by the doctor is to be avoided until the patient gets a go ahead to do so.
• Listening to some soothing music and meditation has proven to help in recovering faster. 
• Surround your-self with those who love you and can take on as much workload from you as possible.

Before returning from the abdominoplasty, the patient should discuss the recovery time and post-operative care procedure with their surgeon to understand:

• How and when to remove bandages
• Care while bathing and how to do it
• When and which normal activities they can resume
• When is their follow-up visit 
• What medications to take and what to avoid
• Their diet plan

Do note that this will be shared before discharge as a standard procedure in most hospitals. By watching a complete procedure of a tummy tuck surgery video, you will understand the procedure better, and thus you can prepare yourself for the surgery. 

Finally, a tummy tuck surgery in India is a very successful cosmetic procedure. Once the patient understands this procedure, their need, the change they are seeking in their abdominal structure, their health while considering this and has spoken to an expert in the field, typically a cosmetic or a plastic surgeon, they are in a better position to make an informed decision.