There is a role for diet and exercise in making almost everyone look and feel as healthy as possible. There are also limitations to what diet and exercise can fix.
It won’t fix muscle weakness/spreading and the bulge that produces and it won’t fix the stretched out skin that follows pregnancy and weight loss. In those cases, surgery can supplement a healthy lifestyle to produce dramatic results.
Yours is a case, with an underlying fit abdomen and minimal excess that can respond really, really well to a full abdominoplasty.
The key now is finding the right surgeon to meet with and make a plan with. Find someone who is board certified and who has result photos that will leave you feeling comfortable.
Some surgeons now do a drainless tummy tuck which I have found to be much easier on the patient and with better results. The use of long acting numbing medicine called Exparel has made a dramatic difference in postoperative pain in my patients as well. It is expensive and you may need to ask for it if your surgeon doesn’t typically use it.
Keep looking until you find a surgeon you like in an office where you feel comfortable. I included photos of a patient who has a similar underlying shape to you to show the extent of improvement available. (Jeremy Pyle, MD, Raleigh-Durham Plastic Surgeon)
There are many, many women in your situation so your question will help many in their decision making.Understand that your skin has been stretched beyond repair. This skin is comprised of various layers and the damage has been done to the dermis. The result is what you see … lots and lots of stretch marks.
In addition, you’ve had two c-sections. the abdominal wall muscles have been stretched. No amount of exercise or dieting will help you get back your pre-mommy shape. Although you may be reluctant to have it done, you need a tummy tuck. A tummy tuck will repair the muscles and remove all of the excess skin and stretch marks from your belly button to the pubic area.
Always seek out the opinion of a surgeon certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery with years of experience in tummy tucks. Furthermore request to see before and after photos of previous patients by that doctor.not a clinic or surgery center. Do your homework… research and verify the doctor’s credentials. Have they had problems with the Board of Medicine, disciplinary or otherwise. Any law suits? How about the center, clinic or facility? Are they accredited by a national organization or do they just have State approval. Understand that at the current time, there are three nationally recognized organizations responsible for the highest levels of patient safety, AAAASF, AAACH and JCHO.
You owe it to yourself to position yourself for the best possible results but under the most stringent safety regulations, If you have kids, even more so. How about anesthesia? Will you have a medical doctor certified by the American Board of Anesthesiology or a certified nurse anesthetist (CRNA)? Understand that there is no substitute for research. Cosmetic surgery, no matter how simple it may be to the patients, are invasive procedures and as such carry certain risks and complications. In our office we use TouchMD which is a web based program in which patients have the ability to load their picture unto the program.
I then evaluate them and can actually draw on the picture to show a potential patient where the incisions would be located and how the procedure is to be realized. It’s all done to comply with HIPPA which is the federal law that protects the patient’s medical information. Look them up. Give yourself the highest percentage of a sucssesful operation. (Jose Perez-Gurri, MD, Miami Plastic Surgeon)
There is an expression in medicine: “When you are a hammer, everything is a nail.” In this case, plastic surgeons are “hammers”. Most in this forum would recommend a tummy tuck. Nobody really needs a tummy tuck. Most people who are good candidates simply want one. I generally advise my patients to wait until they are finished child bearing. Then continue to diet and exercise until your improvement plateaus.
When you are at your best, a tummy tuck is an option. There are a few things to point out in your case that make you a preferable candidate. You already have a scar from a C-section. Also, you have mainly loose skin and you are not fat. You generally demonstrate the effects of child bearing. In short, you do not need a tummy tuck, but exercise will not eliminate loose skin. Everyone who is able should exercise. You will certainly recognize an improvement in your figure with enough dedication; but I would not count on restoring your figure to your pre-pregnancy status without surgery. (Jason R. Hess, MD, San Diego Plastic Surgeon)
Do I need a tummy tuck?
Diet and exercise will definitely improve your contour, but it will do nothing to help your stretch marks, loose skin, or depressed c-section scar. (Vishnu Rumalla, MD, Dallas Plastic Surgeon)
Diet will reduce the fat and excercise will strenghthen the muscles. But it will take a full TT to take away all the damaged skin and the attached fat, tighten the muscles, take out the retracted C-section scar and give you a smooth, tight and youthful tummy. You should look into it, you would love the result. (Ronald V. DeMars, MD, Portland Plastic Surgeon)
You have 3 conditions for tummy tuck: skin overhang, stretch marks with abdominal mucles diastasis. The tummy tuck can be combined with some lipo to give you the silloutte you desire. (Yvelise Bello Paredes, MD, Dominican Republic Plastic Surgeon)
You have a skin overhang, stretch marks with moderate diastasis. I think a Full tummy tuck with liposuction to your hips and flanks will serve you best.
You are a good candidate for this procedure already. Diet and exercise will certainly help to tone you muscles as well as your skin and may worth to try first. (Maan Kattash, MD, FRCS, Los Angeles Plastic Surgeon)
You are a very good candidate for Abdominoplasty ( Tummy Tuck) with muscle tightening. Exercise alone is not going to help you get rid of your excess skin. Only a Tummy Tuck will. Make to sure to seek an experienced Board Certified Plastic Surgeon. (Thomas Trevisani, Sr., MD, Orlando Plastic Surgeon)
Am I a candidate for tummy tuck
Because of the stretch marks and loose skin, you are definitely a candidate for tummy tuck with repair of the stretching of the muscles (rectus abdomini) caused by the pregnany. Weight loss always helps, but you will develop a hanging apron of skin – and will still need the abdominoplasty with muscle repair. (Paul Silverstein, MD, Oklahoma City Plastic Surgeon)