Manhattan, New York City, NY
An abdominoplasty, also known as a “tummy tuck”, is a procedure most commonly performed to counteract the negative effects that pregnancy has on the abdomen. However, both men and women choose abdominoplasty to reclaim the youthful, taut mid-section they once had.
The standard procedure
Dr. Bellin, one of the best board certified plastic surgeons in NY, begins by making a long, shallow, horizontal incision across the lower portion of the abdomen. After this incision, he will make a small, circular incision around your navel (belly button), being careful not to detach it from its underlying blood supply. Now, with your navel still in its original place, he will lift the loosened abdominal skin over the muscle all the way up to the bottom of your ribs. This loosens the skin so it can be pulled down and exposes the muscle so it can be tightened.
Lax muscles are corrected by sewing permanent sutures into the tough material that covers your abdominal muscles, then folding the muscles back over on themselves. The results of this process also narrow your waist and flatten out your lower bulge if you have one. Think of it as an internal corset.
Next, all the extra fat and skin between your navel and the line above your pubic hair is pulled down and cut off. Doing this also eliminates stretch marks and may even remove some of your previous scars, such as those left over from an appendectomy or cesarean section. At this point, your remaining skin is pulled downward until it reaches the incision from your pubic area to your hips. The excess skin and fat are then removed and the incision is sutured together.
Your navel is now covered by skin since it was never moved. By creating a new hole directly above it, your navel can be pulled through to the surface and sutured back in the location it was in before.
Scarring
You will have a tiny scar which encircles your navel, and a more significant scar which runs across where the long incision was made. This will result in a permanent, visible scar that can be hidden easily under a bathing suit, underwear, or other clothes.
For additional information about abdominoplasty please visit the What Abdominoplasty Can Improve and Abdominoplasty Expectations pages.
If you are considering having a tummy tuck, please contact us today to arrange your free abdominoplasty consultation.