Tummy tuck articles

  • BMI guidelines for Tummy tuck and BBL

    Body mass index formulas.

    Your BMI, or Body Mass Index, is calculated with a mathematical formula using your height and weight. The higher your BMI, the higher your surgical risk for complications both during and after surgery. Therefore, when I am evaluating patients for cosmetic (elective) procedures, I use their BMI as a surgical complication risk assessment factor. Find out what your BMI needs to be in order to schedule plastic surgery.

  • What do Tummy tuck scars look like?

    Tummy Tuck scar is placed in panty line

    Many patients are afraid of getting a Tummy tuck because of the scars. But patients should not be afraid, because these incisions can be surgically placed so that they are not noticeable, even when you wear a bikini after the surgery. However, you should know that the appearance of the final scar is very dependent on the technique your surgeon uses. Based on some of the before and after photos that I have seen on the web, there is a wide variation in scar placement for this procedure. There are very concrete steps that a surgeon can use to ensure a scar is well placed (and thin enough) to allow the patient to wear a bikini after having a Tummy tuck.

  • Tummy tuck patients Are happy happy happy!

    96% worth it rating based on 5705 stories

    I’ve been online for quite some time, writing this blog and producing videos in hopes of educating patients who are considering cosmetic surgery. As such I’ve also been involved with online forums centered around plastic surgery topics. Perhaps the most comprehensive online portal for patients looking to gain first-hand knowledge and information about plastic surgery procedures is RealSelf. Today I took a look at the “Worth It” Ratings for the various cosmetic surgery procedures and according to RealSelf, the highest rated procedures are.

  • Compression garments for Liposuction and Tummy tuck

    A compression garment from Design Veronique.

    For the best results following any plastic surgery procedure it’s important to choose your board certified surgeon carefully, discuss your goals and options very specifically, and follow your surgeons post-op instructions completely. Not wearing your compression garment after surgery might not seem like a big deal, but in fact, it is very important to your surgical result! I ask all of my patients to wear a compression garment after their Liposuction and/or tummy tuck surgery. Here’s why.

  • What does the Mommy makeover do?

    A collage of photos of a patient before and after a Mommy makeover.

    The Mommy makeover is a combination of cosmetic surgery procedures done at the same time to address the changes in the body after pregnancy. Each Mommy makeover is customized to your concerns. However, the Mommy makeover should address 3 main issues, which concern the breast , stomach, and upper body changes.

  • How long is the Tummy tuck recovery?

    A pen marking a date on a calendar.

    Recovery after a Tummy tuck has to balance two things: the need to get your body going as quickly as possible versus the need to keep things quiet until your body has a chance to heal well. In the past, patients were told to stay very still for a long time, but that created complications such as blog clots in the legs and problems with the lungs. Nowadays patients are encouraged to get moving much sooner, but that can have its own set of problems such as wound separations and infections. Like most things in life, the answer is somewhere in the middle. Here is how we advise our own patients who have surgery in our Baltimore surgery center, and we hope you find it helpful.

  • Avoiding thick Tummy tuck scars

    A collage of photos from different angles of a patient before and after a Tummy tuck procedure.

    Many patients are afraid of the Tummy tuck procedure because they have seen friends’ scars or pictures of scars on the Internet and they think such scars are unavoidable. Still others, including Hispanic, Orientals, or African Americans think they are bound to get thick scars simply based on their racial background. This is just not so. Thick or unsightly scars following Abdominoplasty can be easily avoided.

  • Tummy tuck complications – Infection, wound separation, seroma, hematoma

    Fluid collection from a seroma.

    There have been several comments recently on one of my previous blog posts about Tummy tuck swelling. While swelling is a definite concern, it’s only one of the possible complications following Abdominoplasty. Other complications can include infection, wound separation, and fluid collections. Be sure to discuss these things with your plastic surgeon prior to your surgery.

  • Can a Tummy tuck be performed with a Brazilian butt lift?

    A photo of a female patient, zoomed in from behind, showing the results of a Brazilian butt lift and Tummy tuck combination.

    “Can I have another procedure at the same time as the Brazilian butt lift?” The answer is yes and no. A Tummy tuck can be safely combined with the Brazilian butt lift to give a great result. However, combining the butt lift with breast aug is usually not advisable. Watch this video by Dr. Ricardo Rodriguez, a Yale trained Plastic Surgeon.

  • Pain pumps: Cosmetic surgery with minimal pain

    A photo of a computer screen showing a list of advantages of using pain pumps.

    Plastic surgery doesn’t have to be painful. If you are having a cosmetic surgery procedure ask your plastic surgeon about pain pumps. These types of pumps use local anesthetics, not narcotics. Pain pumps eliminate pain, reduce nausea, and result in much quicker recovery. Watch my Cosmeticsurg blog to find out about why I think pain pumps in cosmetic surgery are great!

  • Tummy tuck anesthesia makes a big difference | Tumescent local vs. General anesthesia

    A photo zoomed in on the hand of a patient while an anesthesia is being applied.

    In many plastic surgery forums I always see the question – ‘Can a tummy tuck can be performed with something other than General Anesthesia’? The good news is YES – you can have a tummy tuck with IV Sedation. Instead of general anesthesia, I use local tumescent anesthesia with IV sedation. This type of anesthesia is highly preferable compared to general anesthesia and I want to explain why. With General anesthesia , a machine is breathing for you and you have a tube down your throat or nose. With IV anesthesia you are breathing on your own and there is no tube in your throat or nose. Recovery from IV sedation is also much easier with IV sedation compared to General anesthesia. Most people experience much less nausea with IV sedation.

  • How to control postoperative swelling after Tummy tuck

    An illustration showing postoperative swelling stages.

    In my previous blog post about postoperative Tummy tuck swelling I talked about how the blood supply is disrupted to different degrees using the two different types of Tummy tuck techniques (standard vs. Lockwood). In summary, the more skin that is elevated and separated from the muscle layer, the more blood supply disruption you have. On this post we will address swelling of the tissues after Tummy tuck and why compression garments following surgery are important to reduce swelling. The body is made mostly of water, and there is a constant fluid leakage from the tissues balanced by reuptake of fluid into the lymphatic drainage system. When the lymphatic system is impaired, we get fluid accumulations. The fluid can accumulate between the tissues as interstitial fluid (like a soaked sponge), or outside of the tissues as a seroma (like a sac of fluid). It can also accumulate at some distance from the operative site, usually the upper thighs or legs. The drawing illustrates the various types of fluid accumulation following surgery. As you move from left to right on the illustration you have increasing swelling to result in these conditions: