During weight gain, most people carry their weight in their abdomen, so in case that they shed off the extra pounds, they end up with a sagging skin and fat bulges in the area. Fortunately, there are many procedures in plastic surgery designed to contour the midsection; these are some of the most common examples:
· Complete tummy tuck
It involves a U-shaped, hip-to-hip incision that will allow plastic surgeons to excise the hanging skin and fats and to suture/reshape the underlying abdominal muscles to further address the sagging appearance. At the same time, they also reposition the navel.
Because of the length of incision used in complete tummy tuck, this is only given to patients who need the most correction.
· Fleur-de-lis abdominoplasty
This is a tummy tuck specifically designed for previously obese patients who typically suffer from redundant skin that leads to a wide range of problems such as irritation, breakdown of tissue, foul odor caused by the trapped sweat, and limited physical movement.
It uses the same incision in complete tummy tuck in addition to a vertical slit up the center of the abdomen to further contour the midsection.
· Mini or modified tummy tuck
This involves a smaller incision, which results to shorter recovery and less scarring; however, this approach is only ideal for patients who need their excess skin and fats excised and not those who require muscle tightening.
Meanwhile, mini tummy tuck is sometimes performed with the use of endoscope, a small camera attached to a monitor so the surgeons can see the underlying tissue without the need to use extensive incisions. With this technique, they can further shorten the length of a surgical cut.
Endoscopically-assisted tummy tuck is only ideal for patients whose sagging is primarily caused by the weakened or stretched muscles and some excess fats rather than by the hanging, loose skin.
· Abdominal liposuction
The procedure starts with the injection of tumescent fluids to emulsify and turn the fats into a liquid form before their extraction. With this approach, plastic surgeons can accurately remove the fatty deposits and sculpt the waistline.
Unlike the tummy tuck, abdominal liposuction does not result to visible scarring (in most cases) because it uses small incisions that measure about 1/8 of an inch.
· Abdominal etching
This is another form of abdominal liposuction, although doctors use a smaller cannula, which is a steel tube that suctions out the unwanted fats. Through this instrument, they remove some fatty deposits and leave some fat pads to create grooves that lead to the appearance of a “six-pack ab.”
