Tummy Tuck: Prices, Photos, Reviews, Info, Q&A

This is really a complex issue, and different surgeons have differing views on it. Ideally patients should wait to have a tummy tuck only after they are sure they are not going to get pregnant again. However, sometimes it is difficult to know. Having a tummy tuck does not prevent one from having further pregnancies. The issue is that additional pregnancies can have a detrimental effect on the results of your tummy tuck procedure. The effects can be so serious that a patient may require further body contouring surgery to address them.

How long ? You will be fine. You could get pregnant several months after and do fine. the real question is how big will you become and how many new stretch marks will you form. Only time will tell.

I typically encourage patients to wait until after having all of their children before undergoing tummy tuck surgery. The reason for this is that tummy tucks remove excess skin and having another child can cause excess skin to return — this would make the results not quite as good as before. Having said this, I have seen photos of patients that had children after a tummy tuck and the end result was still acceptable (looked worse than they did prior to pregnancy).

Photo of pregnancy after a tummy tuck

If however, you want to undergo liposuction I think that future pregnancies after a tummy tuck tend to have less effect on the overall outcome. Please realize that all women gain weight during pregnancy, and so some of the “sculpting” may temporarily be obscured by baby fat.

If you have lost almost all of your “baby weight” with previous pregnancies then you will probably do just fine. If, however, you have gained 15- 30 lbs with each pregnancy that you can’t lose then you may also want to wait for liposuction until you are done having children.

Typically there are no pregnancy complications in women after undergoing a tummy tuck. Most likely there would be at lest some recurrence of a pre-tummy tuck looseness. It is really best to wait to undergo a tummy tuck after having all the children you plan on having.

Pregnancy after a tummy tuck image

While it is best to wait until after your childbearing to have body contouring surgery, it is certainly possible and safe to become pregnant after tummy tuck surgery. It would be best to wait at least 6 months or so to insure that all of the deep abdominal repairs are well healed. Your belly will stretch, and of course some of the improvement that you gained from the surgery will be lost – but it may be worth it!

Generally speaking it is best to wait until after you are done having children as to not require a secondary tummy tuck, however, it is perfectly safe to have a pregnancy after tummy tuck surgery because you will be fully healed after several months.

If it is a what if scenerio and you are not planning on having any children in the near future, some patients feel it is worth it to have the surgery as soon as they are recovered from their planned pregnancies.

Pregnancy after a tummy tuck operation

It does not make alot of sense to plan a “tummy tuck” if you strongly anticipate future pregnancies. Most women await completion of pregnancies prior to proceeding with surgery so that they will not “ruin” their results and also there is a small theoretic possibility that the tightened abdominal wall may limit the preganancy expansion/stretching, although I do not believe this is true.

I have know of many sucessful pregnancies after tummy tuck… just sort out your priorities.

Plastic surgeons never agree. When you see many plastic surgeons all saying the same thing, particularly when we are SURGEONS and like to do surgery, then you really should listen.

When should be done tummy tuck?

Pregnancy after a tummy tuck photo

Tummy tucks should be done AFTER you are done with kids. You can have a pregnancy after tummy tuck. It is possible. It is just you will ruin the results, get loose skin, loose muscles, potentially more stretch marks.

Liposuction though is different. I think it is a great thing to do before another pregnancy, especially if you have a problem zone like the “outer thighs” or “abdomen.” Liposculpture, liposelection, liposuction- they are all the same procedure. All liposuction will sculpt, whether you are using ultrasonic, vaser, laser, or traditional techniques. The issue with liposuction is it relies on your skin tone to “shrink” to the smaller size. Younger, less stretched out skin is better for that.

SO

1. Lipo before babies is good.

2. Tummy tuck after you are done.

Pregnancy after a tummy tuck question

It would be SAFE at any time to become pregnant after a tummy tuck and body sculpting, since the incisions would be well-healed after several monthe. However, I definitely agree with the other opinions recommending that you wait until having all your children to have a TT, since a full-term pregnancy will definitely undo all benefits of the TT.

If you are at all considering pregnancy after a tummy tuck in the near future, it would not be wise to pursue a tummy tuck now.

All that is repaired during a tummy tuck may be undone and require the entire procedure to have to be repeated.

Having said that there is no formal recommendations about how long someone should wait. I can recall at least 3 patients who have undergone a tummy tuck followed by pregnancy.

Pregnancy after a tummy tuck surgery

This has varied from 6 months to 4 years after the procedure. None of these patients developed any complications as a result of the pregnancy.

Generally, all body sculpting and tummy tucks should be done AFTER you are done having children so future pregnancies don’t ruin all you went through with cost, risk, pain, and recovery.

While it is possible to have the tummy tuck surgery prior to having another child, I think it is in your best interest to wait until you are done having children to have the surgery. The reason being is that you are going to spend a lot of money on removing excess skin and tightening your abdominal muscles, which will be stretched out again during pregnancy, which might result in you eventually wanting a secondary tuck.

Therefore, I recommend waiting until after you are done having children. Obviously, you should discuss this matter with your doctor prior to making any decision.