The Pros and Cons of Tummy Tuck Surgery

Tummy tuck surgery is a popular procedure that can give you a slimmer waistline and improve how your stomach looks. Also referred to as an abdominoplasty, the treatment involves excess fat and loose skin removal from the abdomen that tightens your muscles to tone your belly. As this is not a simple operation, it is important to understand both the good and the bad of such a major surgical procedure before deciding to go ahead with a tummy tuck surgery. To help, in the following post, we are going to look at the pros and cons of tummy tucks.

The pros of the tummy tuck surgery

Just like any type of cosmetic procedure, a tummy tuck surgery offers several great benefits. Before we look at the downsides of this procedure that helps to remove excess skin and tighten abdominal muscles, we will spend some time discussing the many pros of this popular plastic surgery.

A better-contoured tummy and Flatter waistline

Whether it’s due to inactivity, injury, ageing or pregnancy, your abdominal muscles can become weakened or even separate over time. This creates a less desirable stomach. These issues can be corrected with a tummy tuck procedure. During tummy tuck surgery, your abdominal muscles are tightened and repaired, which will help to give you a more defined and contoured look. A flatter waistline will not only help you feel better about yourself but will allow you to wear a better range of clothing.

Better Posture

Potentially, you could also experience improved posture following tummy tuck surgery. This is because tightened muscles and eliminated soft tissues provide your spine with better support. So as well as a taut and toned tummy, you may find that you are able to sit more comfortably too.

No more stretch marks

Men and women can both suffer from stretch marks, either due to massive weight gain or loss or after pregnancy. Although they are not physically harmful, they can affect the look and feel of your abdomen and can have a detrimental effect on your self-confidence and self-esteem. A huge benefit of a tummy tuck procedure is that the skin with stretch marks can be removed completely as part of the efforts made by the plastic surgeon to tighten your abdominal muscles.

Tighter abdominal muscles

It’s been touched on already, but the effect improved and tightened abdominal muscles can have on your body shape and confidence is worth highlighting. This benefit is separate from other benefits a tummy tuck surgery creates. As excess skin and loose skin are removed from the abdominal area, it can tighten separated abdominal muscles.

More Self Confidence

Another benefit that has been touched on while discussing other direct benefits that deserve its own section is increased self-confidence. Stretch marks and the effects of separated abdominal muscles in men and women, where you are left with a drooping belly, can greatly adversely affect your confidence and self-esteem. Although you may still need to work through any emotional or psychological effects, the almost immediate positive results mean that you can feel better about your body after tummy tuck surgery.

Pain Goes Hand in Hand With Swelling with a Tummy Tuck Surgery

As you may expect from cosmetic surgery performed by a plastic surgeon using a general anaesthetic, you are going to experience a reasonable amount of pain and swelling following the procedure. The numbness, bruising, swelling and pain may last for the duration of the recovery period and are all part and parcel of your body healing properly. Your plastic surgeon will suggest a plan of aftercare that you should follow closely to help increase the efficiency of the recovery process.

The cons of the tummy tuck surgery

In the interests of providing as full a picture as possible to be as transparent as possible, it is important to remember that all cosmetic surgery tends to carry with it a number of pros and cons. We have already discussed the pros, so it’s time to consider the cons. While we are not suggesting that these are dealbreakers or that you should avoid having a tummy tuck procedure because of them, it is still in your best interest to be aware of them.

Recovery time

The first downside we need to discuss is the fact that because it is a major procedure, tummy tuck recovery takes a long time. By long, you can expect to wait at least 8 to 12 weeks before you benefit fully from tummy tuck surgery. It is important to follow the instructions of the plastic surgeon who performed your tummy tuck procedure and follow a lifestyle of regular exercise and healthy food. Many of the positive effects are often obscured because you cannot stand fully upright and the swelling around the procedure site.

Puts a hold on exercise for weeks

Following on from the above, another downside to tummy tuck surgery and the associated recovery period is the fact that you will need to put all exercise and strenuous activity on hold. While this may not be a major dealbreaker for some people, it is worth considering if you participate in sports or other activities.

Scarring

As we have already discussed, the tummy tuck procedure is a major operation which involves a lot of swelling and a long recovery period. In addition to the swelling, it will leave you with temporary scarring that could take several months to a year to properly fade away. The upside is that because of how tummy tuck surgery is performed, the scar is usually well-concealed, and you can still wear clothing like bikinis etc. Silicone scar sheets and other forms of intervention may be used to reduce your tummy tuck scarring.

Maintaining your weight to ensure the longevity of your results

Tummy tuck recovery can be a lot of hard work and requires a concerted effort to follow the strict guidelines set out by the plastic surgeon who performed the procedure. You will generally need to follow a healthy lifestyle change to a low-carb diet and an adequate amount of exercise to ensure you gain the most desirable results in the long term by maintaining your ideal weight. Although the plan has been developed to be as easy to follow as possible, many people struggle with it.

Pain Goes Hand in Hand With Swelling with a Tummy Tuck Surgery

As you may expect from cosmetic surgery performed by a plastic surgeon using a general anaesthetic, you will experience a reasonable amount of pain and swelling following the procedure. The numbness, bruising, swelling, and pain may last for the duration of the recovery period and are all part and parcel of your body’s healing properly.

Conclusion

As you can see, tummy tuck surgery has many important pros and cons. We know the effects sudden weight loss or weight gain and pregnancy stretch marks can have on how your body and mind look and feel. Before rushing into such a serious and major operation, though, we hope you will take note of the above pros and cons. At Linia Cosmetic Surgery, we are happy to say that any board-certified plastic surgeon who performs a tummy tuck on you in our clinic will do so to avoid as many of the downsides as possible. For more information or to book your consultation appointment, please contact us today.

Posted In: Body Treatments Blogs

Written By: Dr Khalid Irshad