Abdominoplasty

The ideal tummy-tuck patient is healthy, smoke-free, has attained a stable target weight, and if female, is through with planned pregnancies. He or she has excess abdominal skin in the abdominal area, and a minimal amount of excess adipose deposits.

This issue is entirely dependent on the patient, and the location of the striae or stretch marks. If the stretch marks are entirely confined to the skin that will be resected, obviously all of the stretch marks will be gone. If there are stretch-marks present outside of the area to be excised, the stretchmarks will be stretched in the direction of their orientation. To be sure, stretching them in a direction perpendicular to their orientation will always make them worse. When stretch-marks are present in lose skin the adopt a raised appearance with color-variegation, and become very conspicuous. Stretching them along their long axis, however, generally camouflages them to a greater extent than they would be in an area of excess skin.

In breast augmentation surgery, a space is created under the soft tissues of the chest wall. This is the space where the breast implant is placed. The size of the pocket and the size of the implant are seldom identical, and the discrepancy creates a potential space where fluid can collect. The dissection through the soft tissue to the breast implant pocket also makes a potential space for fluid to collect. Sometimes a long standing blood collection can leave a space after it is resorbed. Most seromae resolve with only a few drainage attempts, without an incision. In cases where post-breast augmentation seromae fail to resolve, lining of the fluid pocket needs to be excised because this is what makes the fluid.

Safety has not been conclusively demonstrated in cases of autoimmune diseases, such as lupus and scleroderma, a weakened immune system as in chemo patients, or HIV patients, disorders of healing, blood clotting, vascular disease, after radiation therapy to the chest, and incompletely treated psychiatric problems.

Losing weight after abdominoplasty can negate some of the effects of this body sculpting surgery. Losing adipose tissue relaxes the skin envelope in which it is contained leading to excess skin. If the weight loss is modest, less than twenty pounds as a general rule, this effect is not very pronounced. Losing more weight can produce visible skin laxity. It is best to be at a stable target weight prior to undertaking any form of body reshaping. Otherwise the results will be compromised.

Stretching the abdominal skin after an abdominoplasty will lead to tension on the tummy-tuck incision. Tension is placed on this incision can lead to a widened scar. The added belly volume can stretch the skin of the abdomen, negating the effects of tummy-tuck surgery. It is best to be through with all planned pregnancies prior to undergoing abdominoplasty.