Abdominoplasty | Tummy Tuck | Miami | Miami Beach

Abdominoplasty or ("Tummy Tuck") Miami

Abdominoplasty or “tummy tuck is one of the most popular surgeries for plastic surgery of the body. It removes skin and fat and tightens stomach muscles that have been stretched by weight gain and/or pregnancy. We perform the surgery in our accredited office surgery suite under gentle sedation anesthesia. You will be able to go home the same day without the loose skin, stretched muscles, excess fat and stretch marks that you had only hours before.

Types of Abdominoplasty/Tummy Tuck
The decision about whether to remove skin, tighten muscles, combine lioposculpture and/or use short scars will be made by you and your Dr. Hunsaker. Not all components are necessary in every patient so your individual procedure will be customized for your specific needs and goals. Wheteher you need a mini-tummy tuck, a “Saldana Procedure”, a limited abdominoplasty or a full tummy tuck can only be determined after a complete evaluation by Dr. Hunsaker.

It is very common for other procedures such as breast augmentation/lift or arm lipo/lift to be performed at the same time offering you the opportunity to have only one anesthetic and recovery period for multiple procedures

Candidates for Abdominoplasty/Tummy Tuck
If your body weight is stable and any blood pressure or diabetes issues controlled, you may be a good candidate for this procedure. Smoking dramatically increases your risk of complications and is best stopped completely for at least two weeks before surgery. Both men and women choose this surgery and the details vary slightly for both. In order to allow your stretched tissues to recover as much as possible, you should wait at least three to six months after having a baby before having this procedure.

Details of Abdominoplasty/Tummy Tuck Surgery
The surgery typically takes two to three hours to complete. After removing slected areas of fat, Dr. Hunsaker will lift the skin to tighten the front stomach muscles, place a small drain to prevent the accumulation of tissue fluids after surgery and then stretch and remove the excess skin from the front of your abdomen, recreating a natural looking “belly button” in the process. All of the stitches are under the skin and dissolve with time, thus reducing your scarring and eliminating the need for painful and tedious suture removal during the recovery period. You will be able to comfortably return home the same day able to walk and stand straight. Showering is allowed several days later and usually patients may resume aerobic exercises in two weeks with weights and abdominal exercises allowed by six to eight weeks. Most patients choose to refrain from driving for seven to ten days.

While the results are immediately dramatic and noticable, there is swelling that will slowly go away over a period of several months so you will continue to see positive and continuing change for quite some time.

SCARS of ABDOMINOPLASY/TUMMY TUCK
While Dr. Hunsaker will be able to show you where any scars will be, the appearance of the scars is not predictable. While most patients form good scars, everyone heals differently so the final appearance cannot be guaranteed. In the event of thick or red scars there are options to try to improve them.

RISKS of ABDOMINOPLASTY/TUMMY TUCK
Fortunately, serious complications are uncommon. All surgery carries the risks of bleeding, wound healing problems, infection, poor scarring and blood clots. Dr. Hunsaker has procedures in place to minimize these risks for every patient.

MOMMY MAKEOVER
A common combination of procedures commonly known as a “mommy makeover” is an abdominoplasty/tummy tuck with breast augmentation +/or breast lift. After having a baby, many women discover that despite normal body weight, low body fat and normal weight, their stomach muscles are not flat, their stomach skin is loose with stretch marks/striae and their breasts are “empty” and maybe even sagging.

By addressing both of these issues in one surgery Dr. Hunsaker can restore your body’s appearance to how it was or even better than it was before your pregnancy. Your recovery time will be no different than doing the abdominoplasy/tummy tuck alone.