All of us want to look fit, trim, and shapely, but achieving that look is anything but easy! A lot of us struggle to diet and exercise properly and sometimes that’s still not enough. “Love handles” and little tummy paunches can persist, despite our hard work and our best intentions. How has a tummy tuck procedure explained to you as a fix?
But whether you’re a mom looking to regain her pre-pregnancy figure or a guy looking to improve his “beach body,” there are treatments that can augment and enhance your diet and exercise, helping you to look and feel you very best.
Tummy tucks were made for people who work hard to be healthy and still have some stubborn areas that just aren’t as sleek as they could be. And while the tummy tuck procedure has been around for a while now, recent advances have made it even more appealing and beneficial both in its results and in its recovery.
In other words, if you’ve wondered about getting a tummy tuck in order to achieve a flat stomach, there’s really never been a better time. From the procedure itself to the recovery, tummy tucks have become quite a bit more accessible. Let us show you some of the advancements that have made this possible.
A Drainless & Painless Tummy Tuck
We’ll start with a couple of advancements that have made tummy tucks both drainless and painless.
First, there is the introduction of Exparel, a long-lasting localized anesthetic. We administer this to tummy tuck patients to ensure that they are comfortable and pain-free for the first three days or so of their recovery—and by the time the medicine wears off, the worst of the pain has come and gone. What’s more, we did a study in our office and found that the patients who use Exparel use only about a third the number of narcotics they might normally use.
The other thing that has helped in recent years is the move toward progressive tension sutures. Instead of putting drains under the flap that we develop, we quilt the flap back down. In other words, there are a lot of stitches on the inside, stitches that the patient never sees, that keep the flap of skin held tight against the muscular wall. The upshot of this is that it has eliminated the need for drains in the tummy tuck recovery process, making the recovery considerably more pleasant and more manageable for the patient.
Not only does the drainless approach make for a happier recovery, but it actually eliminates some of the most common risks of the tummy tuck operation. Historically, the biggest side effect has been the accumulation of fluid under the tissue, but with these progressive tension sutures, that’s no longer a big concern.
These advancements have made tummy tucks so much more comfortable and so much easier to bounce back from. We routinely have patients telling us that they had anticipated much worse. If you’ve always wanted to have a procedure done to flatten your tummy or remove stretch marks but feared a long and grueling recovery, we have great news. Thanks to the latest clinical advancements, that’s really not a concern anymore. Recovery from a tummy tuck is briefer and easier than ever before!
Watch the video below to hear Dr. Finical explain Tummy Tuck advances in detail.
Liposuction and Tummy Tucks
And those aren’t the only ways in which tummy tuck procedures have improved in the last few years. Another exciting innovation is the development of what’s called the lipoabdominoplasty approach, a combination of liposuction and tummy tuck.
Here’s why that matters. We can always do a tummy tuck to pull the skin tighter, to get rid of that excess flab around the gut, even to get rid of stretch marks. But what if the layer of fatty tissue just under the skin is a little thicker than normal? You may still not quite achieve the sleek, trim look you were after. Liposuction helps to contour and shape the abdomen so that it looks flat and slim.
Combining a tummy tuck with aggressive liposuction offers the solution and here at Charlotte Plastic Surgery, we’ve helped clients achieve some amazing results with this approach. It’s opened up a whole new avenue for us to help patients looking to get rid of that stubborn flab or that hard-to-get-rid-of love handles.
Recovery from this procedure tends to take about 10 days and again, we have the Exparel available which takes the edge off for those first few days and helps you ride out the most uncomfortable pain.
Again, thanks to the latest clinical advancements, tummy tucks are becoming safer, more effective, and easier to bounce back from. Truly, there has never been a better time to consider having this procedure done.
Making the Right Choice About Tummy Tucks
For as much as tummy tucks are changing, there are a few important aspects that remain the same. For starters, we always want to ensure patient safety. For as much as the risk of complication has diminished, we still want to be certain that our patients are poised for quick and total healing. That’s why we’ll insist on a consultation before your procedure, simply to be sure you’re a good candidate for a safe and smooth tummy tuck.
Additionally, it’s important for patients to understand the options before them and to make the right choice about their cosmetic procedure. Are you seeking the kind of results that require a tummy tuck, or would you actually be better off with liposuction? Is there wisdom in pursuing both at once? These are the questions we can help answer when you meet with one of our surgeons for a consultation.
Charlotte Plastic Surgery is passionate about providing our patients with the results they want all while minimizing pain and recovery times, and part of that means staying up to date with the latest clinical advancements. We are always happy to sit down with you and talk more about how tummy tucks work and what kind of results you can expect from your procedure. Contact Charlotte Plastic Surgery to start that conversation today.
We hope this helped in the understanding of tummy tuck procedure explained.
