Have your pregnancies left you with excess abdominal skin you just can’t shed? Does it turn into sagging folds of fat when you sit down? Perhaps you’ve lost a lot of weight but still have slabs of droopy skin across your abdomen. If you’ve dieted and exercised but the baggy skin won’t disappear, consider treating yourself to a tummy tuck.
A tummy tuck, technically known as an abdominoplasty, removes excess, loose skin from your abdomen. Your belly is one of the hardest places to shed fat and loose skin, especially after menopause. Once your monthly cycle stops, you lose the hormones involved in your reproductive system; weight gain and saggy folds around your abdomen are often unwelcome byproducts.
Board-certified plastic surgeon Jeff Angobaldo with Renaissance Plastic Surgery can transform the way your body looks with the popular tummy tuck procedure. The operation eliminates excess fat and sagging skin and tightens the muscles in your abdomen.
Unexpected benefits of a tummy tuck
Aside from a flatter abdomen, which is the goal of a tummy tuck, you’ll be the recipient of several other benefits you may not have expected. Physicians agree that tummy tucks have functional benefits in addition to cosmetic benefits.
Decreases back pain
Back pain is a common complaint during and even after pregnancy. It’s not surprising — you’re carrying around an extra 30 or 40 pounds before the birth and carrying your baby afterwards.
Your stomach muscles took a beating during your pregnancies. Everything inside stretches to make room for your baby. Likewise, if you weren’t pregnant but were seriously overweight, your stomach muscles have suffered a similar fate.
During the tummy tuck, Dr. Angobaldo tightens those muscles, returning abdominal support that grew weak during your pregnancy or the time when you were overweight. Once Dr. Angobaldo stabilizes your stomach muscles, you’ll be able to hold yourself up with more ease. Your back pain may become a faint memory.
Decreases urinary incontinence
Are you still wearing pads months after giving birth because of urinary incontinence? Are you afraid to laugh? Having a tummy tuck may solve this inconvenient problem.
Research on women who’ve had tummy tucks after having children found that the procedure greatly diminishes urinary leakage. In one study, over 40% of women said that incontinence was a significant concern after having their babies. Only six weeks after the tummy tuck, women in the study showed extensive improvement, and at the six-month mark, only two percent of women said it was still a problem.
Improves posture
Once your stomach muscles are tightened during your tummy tuck, your posture may improve. Were you swayback during your pregnancy? In the long term, being swayback harms your spine. After a tummy tuck, your back is better supported so you don’t lead with your stomach when you walk. Too, you’ll want to show off your flat abdomen, so you’ll have an incentive to stand up straight and tall.
Can correct a hernia in the abdomen
A hernia can form on the wall of your abdomen, (technically called a ventral hernia) due to weak muscles. A part of your intestine or tissue from your abdomen can poke through the abdominal wall. Dr. Angobaldo can correct this hernia by tightening your abdominal muscles, reducing the pressure along the abdominal wall.
After your tummy tuck, you’ll be proud to wear those form-fitting pants. Call Renaissance Plastic Surgery for a consultation about a tummy tuck, other plastic surgery, or a minimally invasive cosmetic procedure. Get ready for your body transformation. You’re in safe hands.