Should You Get A Tummy Tuck?

Tummy tucks are often done in conjunction with other cosmetic surgeries in a process known as a mommy make over. As anyone who has had children can attest to, pregnancy and breast-feeding are extremely hard on the body shape. Breast sag, baby fat lingers and once flat six pack bellies sag with extra fat that won’t go away with diet or exercise.

A tummy tuck may be used in conjunction with liposuction or it may be used as a stand-alone procedure depending on what is needed. If you have lost the baby fat, but can’t get you’re stretched out skin to snap back into its former place, and have that hanging pouch as a reminder you’re a mother, a tummy tuck may be the answer.

During this procedure, your surgeon will remove the extra skin and fat and tighten up the abdominal wall muscles to help you regain your pre-mommy figure.

The recovery time in total is about four weeks, although some patients who are in excellent health and relatively young may bounce back sooner. If you are considering a tummy tuck you should be prepared to be out of work for two weeks, assuming you don’t have a job that is incredibly physically demanding. After the first week your doctor will probably get you going on some light exercises to help you avoid blood clots, which can form from any surgery combined with being inactive.

If you are getting a mommy make over with your tummy tuck, you should plan on having hands on help with your little ones for the first few weeks at least. This may mean having your mother or mother in law help out but it’s a small price to pay for the long term benefit of having your flat abs back and having time to recover adequately from your surgery.

The surgery itself generally takes anywhere from one hour to six hours depending on whether or not you are having multiple procedures done or not. Once you are in the recovery room and you are out of anesthesia your doctor will send you home to recoup.

You should plan on being fairly out of it the first twenty-four hours as you sleep off the effects of your anesthesia and recover from the normal pain and discomfort from your surgery, so you will definitely need hands on help at home.

Normally, you will go home with a drainage tube to drain excessive fluids and blood that collect after surgery as well as surgical wrapping to keep pressure on your abdominal wall. This is usually removed the next day when you have your check up and you will be given a pressure wrap to wear around your belly while you heal.

You can expect to have some swelling and bruising from your tummy tuck, but it should begin to go down and you should be able to see the after affects of your surgical procedure within a month, although some swelling may take longer than that to completely subside.