| Dr. Robert J. Brueck is a plastic surgeon certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery. Here the doctor has answered some common questions that Bizymoms visitors have about Tummy Tuck.
Q. What is a tummy tuck?
A. A tummy tuck is an operation wherein we try to restore the youthfulness to the mid section of a woman’s body or it could be a male and a case of somebody who has lost a significant amount of weight. The purpose of the tummy tuck is to remove excess skin with stretch marks, tighten the muscles and in some cases perform concomitant liposuction. It is not unusual or uncommon for me to do liposuction in the posterior flank area of the body in order to contour this area along with the formal tummy tuck.
Q. What are the benefits of a tummy tuck?
A. The benefits of a tummy tuck are pretty much straightforward, you will have a more youthful abdomen, you get rid of the loose skin, the stretch marks and you tighten the abdominal wall so it looks flatter and more contoured.
Q. How is a tummy tuck performed?
A. A tummy tuck is actually performed as an outpatient under sedation or general depending on whether we are doing liposuction at the same time. This means the patient has very little discomfort during the course of the procedure and is totally asleep. I often tell people that it’s as if you were taking a nap in the afternoon and you wake up and the procedure is performed. Generally speaking the incision for a tummy tuck is along the lower abdominal wall. The length of the incision is based on the degree of laxity and the amount of skin that has to be removed. We then gently separate the skin and fat from the underlying muscles and usually undermine or separate this up to the ribcage. Once this is completed we then tighten the abdominal muscles. The muscles that we tighten are the rectus muscles. Many times with pregnancy these muscles are displaced laterally and there is a pooching out or bulging of the lower abdomen as a result of this. So when we do a tummy tuck we try to replace these muscles in the midline to give the individual a firmer midline and abdomen. Once this is completed we then pull the excess skin down and remove it in its entirety and a drain is placed. The patient then returns to the recovery room where they are in the recovery room for maybe an hour or two whereupon they go home.
Q. How long does tummy tuck surgery take?
A. The length of a tummy tuck operation will depend on the degree of correction that is necessary. In some cases it might be a mini tummy tuck where we take out a little bit of skin and maybe do limited undermining maybe to the belly button and nothing more is required. In a full blown tummy tuck the usual operating room time is two hours. Again, if we are going to do liposuction at the same time we may place a patient on their stomach, liposuction the flanks or hips areas and turn them supine on their back and then do the formal tummy tuck.
Q. Are there risks and complications associated with a tummy tuck?
A. There are always risks associated with any operation. There can be bruising, swelling, infection, bleeding, scarring. I tell people that the scar with a tummy tuck is not necessarily a fine hairline scar because when you think about it what we are trying to do is remove all of the excess skin and make it as tight as we can. When you create that tension you are of necessity creating a widening of the scar. I tell patients, however, in six months or so once everything is settled down if there needs to be a revision we can usually do that in the office under local. I think it’s also imperative that we go ahead and ambulate patients post-op to minimize the risks of blood clots. And of course any time a patient is put to sleep there is always the concomitant risk of pulmonary saquelae as a result of being put to sleep but again in 32 years this has been non-existent to minimal in my experience. I usually tell patients the first day post-op go home, go to bed, put a pillow underneath the knees and flex the hips and sleep. The very next day, I think it’s imperative that they walk and ambulate to minimize the risks of blood clots and wear surgical support stockings and avoid sitting for prolonged periods of time. I tell them to either ambulate and/or keep their legs elevated by lying down with a few pillows underneath their legs.
Q. Will a person have a scar after a tummy tuck?
A. Anytime anyone cuts whether they are a plastic surgeon or not there will be a scar associated with that. I say to people you can’t get rid of loose skin without cutting away. This holds true with a facelift, a breast lift or any type of procedure where you are lifting and getting rid of excess skin as a result of aging, sun damage and the like. So yes there will be a scar there; however, in 32 years I have never had anybody say I wish I hadn’t done it because of the scar. Again, it is something that can be corrected should a portion of the scar not heal satisfactory.
Q. How much does a tummy tuck cost?
A. The cost of a tummy tuck obviously will vary depending on the degree of correction that is necessary. For example, someone who has lost a tremendous amount of weight and has huge folds of skin the cost of the operation can be eight to ten thousand dollars, a mini tummy tuck may be two thousand dollars and then on top of that one would have to pay the cost of the operating room and anesthesia. This can add two to three thousand dollars or more to the cost of the procedure. We do have financing available and very competitive rates.
Q. How can we contact Dr. Brueck if we have any further questions?
A. You can contact me at my office (239) 939-5233 or by email at rjbrueck@abodyandface.com. I would be happy to see any of your prospective prescribers at no charge whereupon they can come in and discuss their particular needs and we can develop a treatment plan appropriate for their desires.
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