Is the pictures of swelling in the internet normal after tummy tuck? Are you thinking about a tummy tuck, but have some questions? Can the muscles be released after a tummy tuck?
We will answer all these questions and many others that you ask us on the 1st date.
Despite making diet and changed habits, I have not been able to get rid of my belly. In fact, I found that the more I exercised, the worse my stomach looked. Losing weight in other parts of my body only made my belly look more pronounced. So I decided to inquire about a tummy tuck.
This is a testimonial from a patient at the 1st appointment for a tummy tuck.
If you’ve been thinking about getting a tummy tuck, here are some things you might want to know ahead of time.
1- Will I lose weight with a tummy tuck?
While some patients may lose a few pounds in the tummy tuck procedure, most of experts in tummy tuck surgery, indicate that tummy tucks should be done when the patient is already in their ideal weight.
Abdominoplasty should not be considered as a weight loss procedure, but to model the body contour
Additionally, while tummy tucks cannot directly address stretch marks. Since the abdominal skin is pulled down, stretch marks can potentially be moved, lowered, or removed if they are part of the excess skin. On the other hand, with abdominoplasty we can also achieve abdominal marking.
2- What are the different types of scars like?
For a traditional tummy tuck, the scar will be from hip to hip and every effort will be made to hide the scar below the bikini line. You will also have a scar around your belly button, as it was actually repositioned during the procedure.
For patients who only need a small amount of skin and muscle tightening, a mini tummy tuck may be an option.
“A mini tummy tuck is one in which there is a very small amount of excess skin, usually below the navel, and the incision leaves a slightly longer scar than a C-section scar,” explains surgeons.
Patients who are interested in a tummy tuck option after weight loss surgery or significant weight loss can expect a large inverted T-shaped scar on the abdomen.
This is because in this type of patient, “there is an excess of horizontal and vertical skin, which extends to the midline of the abdomen,” says Marcos.
When we talk about a tummy tuck without a scar, we are not really talking about a tummy tuck without surgery, but about a tummy tuck with a non-visible scar since it is very close to the pubic area and therefore always covered by underwear, bikinis. However, there are also ways to reduce and remove the abdominoplasty scar.
The size and location of your scar will depend on the type of tummy tuck you need.
You can see the results and scars in these real tummy tuck before and after photos.
Tummy tuck for social security? It does not usually come in and it is likely that your private insurance will not cover it.
In general, a tummy tuck is considered an aesthetic procedure and is not covered by social security or by the vast majority of private insurance.
If you have an umbilical hernia or if the surgery addresses another medical issue (such as excess skin from massive weight loss), some insurances may (key word: may) cover a small portion of the procedure.
In addition to the cost of surgery, you’ll also need to be prepared to spend money on medications and other pre- and post-operative medical supplies.
3- Is the choice of surgeon important?
Finding a qualified plastic surgeon can be more complicated than you think.
First, although the terms are used interchangeably, a plastic surgeon and a cosmetic surgeon are not the same thing. Similarly, a doctor may claim to be “certified” by a board or society that is not recognized.
Here’s why this all matters: Legally, any licensed doctor can offer “aesthetic” procedures. The doctor could be a dermatologist or a gynecologist or a family doctor, but since there is no nationally recognized cosmetic surgery medical board, any doctor could say they are a cosmetic surgeon.
It is likely that many have gone through some “course, seminar or even master”, but if they have not completed the period of residence in a hospital as a MIR (resident internal doctor) in the specialty of plastic, aesthetic and reconstructive surgery, and are accredited by a Spanish society such as SECPRE or AECEP , for example, they are not plastic surgeons.
4- Is a Swelling normal after tummy tuck?
It is easy that you may have heard the phrase “I had a tummy tuck and I have a belly”, I have a bulging abdomen or “I have a belly after the abominoplasty”
These pictures swelling after tummy tuck and liposuction is normal, and may take up to four months to improve.
Also, when the skin of the upper abdomen is pulled down, it can cause an unnatural bulge in the hips or a lack of definition.
After a tummy tuck, lumps and bumps can sometimes be seen or felt in the area, which can last for a few weeks until the internal sutures dissolve and some of the swelling subsides.
Occasionally the uneven look will last longer.
Although the swelling is initially all over your abdomen and hips, as you regain movement.
The swelling will tend to pull down the area just above the scar and cause a bulge.
Lymphatic massage drainage can help get rid of the swelling after tummy tuck.
If you experience swelling three months after surgery, you should return to your plastic surgeon for evaluation. You may require additional liposuction or fat grafting.
Many surgeons perform liposuction or fat grafting in the same tummy tuck operation to achieve better results and reshape and contour the area.
However, if liposuction is performed after a tummy tuck, as it is an additional procedure, it will have its own cost, as well as risks and recovery time.
5- Can the muscles be released after tummy tuck?
It is possible that diastasis rectus muscle repair could fail after abdominoplasty, although this is highly unlikely. Over time there may be some relaxation of muscle repair, but only that.
The best thing to do if you have that feeling due to the presence of a lump after surgery is to call your surgeon to have your abdomen examined and then go to physiotherapist to strength abdominal muscles.
6- Will I need help with daily tasks?
Most tummy tucks are surgeries where you stay 1 or 2 nights in the hospital. Then you will go home and you will have to have someone to help you for the first few days, approximately 1 week.
You’ll need help getting up, repositioning yourself in bed, and basically everything.
Also, doctors recommend that you do not lift anything heavy for the first 4 to 6 weeks, which can be important for mothers with young children.
7- Scars and other Sequelae: When can I get back after a tummy tuck?
A tummy tuck involves risks such as bleeding or infection, but also other specific risks of this surgery that you should be aware of.
A tummy tuck requires a large incision and that scar may not fade or be uneven after surgery.
The biggest risk of scarring is that the healing process is prolonged and worsened by inadequate blood flow.
This can happen for a number of reasons, but the most common are related to what happens during surgery and in the immediate aftermath. You can help maximize blood flow to the scar if you don’t smoke.
We check the scar the day after surgery to make sure everything looks perfect.
8- Numbness
A tummy tuck will leave you with numbness in the area of the scar in the lower abdomen. If liposuction is also combined with tummy tuck surgery, you may experience numbness throughout your abdomen.
You can be numb for six months to a year, but you’ll usually regain feeling in the area in just a few weeks.
Tension in the abdominal muscles When will I be able to sleep in bed normally, sit up and walk upright?
The most serious risk for patients undergoing a tummy tuck arises from straining the abdominal muscles.
Muscle tension can be uncomfortable, especially when you breathe deeply or cough after surgery. Taking deep breaths and moving your feet up and down to flex your calf muscles is crucial to returning blood to your heart at any time, but especially after surgery.
Due to discomfort or pain from muscle contraction, you may not want to do this. But it is important to do so to prevent a blood clot from forming in your leg.
However, after surgery, patients receive anticoagulant medications that are self-administered by injection into the thigh starting the day after surgery.
Also, one of the results of tightening the muscles of the abdomen, removing and tightening excess skin, is that you are likely to lean forward (walk stooped) when you stand for the first few days, or even a couple of days and weeks.
Being so long like this can have some consequences for which it is better to be prepared.
- First of all, your lower back muscles can ache every time you walk or get up.
- Second, you won’t be able to stretch to reach anything above eye level. This will mean that you won’t be able to get anything from the top two shelves of your fridge.
- This bent position also affects how you sleep. Plan to sleep in a recliner, with a wedge pillow, or on a couch with plenty of pillows to support your legs and back until you can lie flat, which can happen around of the second week.
9- How do you look after tummy tuck? expect benefits beyond aesthetic improvement
It’s true that you probably feel much better in your clothes after a tummy tuck.
However, the procedure may also offer medical benefits:
- Some studies have suggested that tummy yuck can help with urinary incontinence.
- It also has a huge impact on the strength and support of your core muscles.
- An integral part of a tummy tuck is repairing diastasis recti, which is a gap between the muscles of the rectum that occurs naturally after childbirth or a large amount of weight loss.
- For patients with significant diastasis, repairing it helps improve their core stability and eliminate back pain and swelling.
10- Why does swelling occur after a tummy tuck?
The formation of swelling following the tummy tuck begins with the surgery itself, but continues in the following hours. To avoid excessive swelling formation after tummy tuck, the dressing after the surgical procedure will be elastic and compressive. With this dressing, the collection of liquids will be less precisely in consideration of the limitation of spaces. The compression bandage must be kept for a few days and after its removal, special graduated compression garments (specific girdle) will be used.
11- Time of resorption of swelling
The process of formation and subsequently resorption of the edema is normal. The progressive reduction of edema occurs spontaneously in the days following the tummy tuck, but can last several weeks.
Already after 15 days most of the swelling will have disappeared, but the total re-absorption, sometimes occurs after a few months.
Specific post-operative massages can be prescribed by the cosmetic surgeon to facilitate swelling reabsorption.
12- Avoid sun exposure
In the presence of post-operative swelling it is essential to avoid exposure to sunlight. Consequently, it is not advisable to expose yourself to the sun after tummy tuck for at least 2 months and in any case we will proceed with a total protection sunscreen. It is advisable to consult the cosmetic surgeon before sun exposure
13- Ways To Reduce Swelling after tummy tuck with pictures
Here are alternative ways that to assist reduce swelling after tummy tuck once reconstructive surgery surgery with pictures.
Keep partly active:
Don’t adopt a inactive life throughout recovery. You wish to be moderately active. During this way, you’ll activate the blood flow. This preventing the formation of thrombi within the legs and speed up recovery.
Balance diet:
To scale back swelling, we tend to should avoid all foods that are high in sodium. As a result of this could cause bigger water retention. It’s thus that our diet ought to target contemporary products, providing vitamins and minerals promoting recovery.
Apply cold:
The appliance of ice on the affected space are often helpful throughout the primary 5 days once surgery, serving to to scale back inflammation. It’s necessary that the ice isn’t applied onto the skin directly, which it is not used for over twenty minutes at a time.
Break:
Though we’ve indicated that you just ought to stay partly active. But, rest is additionally terribly important. Because excessive activity contributes to swelling and therefore the formation of seromas. It should be tough to doze off at night. Generally, because of the discomfort of the advocated posture (head raised and hips flexed). Generally, we tend to bring down medicine comparable to Melatonin, which, with the exception of being a strong antioxidant, facilitates regulate sleep cycles once surgery.
Sustenance supplements:
Though not scientifically proven, vitamin supplements can help improve healing. Unremarkably we recommend the contribution of sustenance C, A, E and blood group fully in high doses.
Massages:
Physiotherapists will perform massages on the abdomen and on the scar carefully. And take care of the circulation of the active area. For the primary few days, only body fluid drain is suggested to avoid tissue displacement and seroma. However, from the third week They will intensify the massages, particularly of the scars. They will use oils to hold them out. You’ll additionally apply creams or gels to scale back bruises if they exist
