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

The tummy tuck procedure has become very popular over the past several years, both by patients who have completed their families, and by those who have succeeded in weight loss programs. The goal of tummy tuck is to repair the muscle foundation and support of the abdomen, and to remove skin excess to contour the abdomen. There are usually two scars to contend with, one around the belly button and the second which lies low, across the pelvis. This lower scar will lie close the a typical C-section scar line, and is longer by two thirds.

The tummy tuck scar line is designed to be covered by underpants and swim suits. Sometimes a patient will wear a particular style and will bring their clothing or suit along when planning where the scar line will be. As the cut for jeans has been lowered, so too the scar line for tummy tuck has been lowered, and become shorter if possible. Make sure that your surgeon is artful and will work with you for your particular lifestyle needs. Also, patients are very particular about the belly button scar and it is helpful to check out typical results on you surgeon’s website to ensure care is taken in this area, as well.

Overall, despite the low scar, patients are thrilled with the smoothness and improved contours that tummy tuck provides, and if well planned, the scar should be hidden under underpants and bathing suits.

You will have a scar for the tummy tuck. The full tummy tuck scar goes across the abdomen to remove all extra and loose skin.

In my practice I have clients come the day before surgery and bring low underwear and or swimsuit can I can make sure the scar is placed where we both agree on and will cover them after surgery, This way we have no surprises because it takes several months for this scar the fade.

I am sensitive the placement and want to make sure the client is happy with both the results and the incision placement. In the past two years this procedure has become very popular with mothers who have finished having children and want to improve their looks and be able to return to the tummy they had prior to children.

Most often the improvement in the tummy area is worth the scar and clients are happy with the tight results.

You can wear a bikini after a tummy tuck. You will definitely have scars after tummy tuck, but how visible they are depends on a number of factors. First, you want to make sure you tell your surgeon what style of bikini, underwear, or even jeans (if you are a fan of super-low rise) you tend to wear so that he or she can hide your incisions accordingly. Your surgeon may ask you to bring them in so that your surgical markings are tailored appropriately. The placement of incisions will be different in a patient who wears low rise jeans compared to a patient who only wears high “french-cut” bikinis.

The other factors that play a role are how well your body heals scars in general, the quality of your skin, how much tension is on your incisions (how tight you are), how much time has passed since surgery, how compliant you are with postoperative activity, etc. Scars tend to be more prominent initially, and can remain pink for even a year. If you tend to make puffy scars or keloids, your scars after tummy tuck may be worse. Scars may also widen over time or rise up a bit from where they were originally marked due to the upward pull on the tissue. If you return to aggressive physical activity before your surgeon recommends, this can also pull on your scar.

The belly button incision is not going to be covered up by a two piece bathing suit, but efforts are made to make it as unnoticable as possible, either inside the rim of the belly button or along it. Some patients heal these extremely well and the scar is not noticable, and other patients get puffy pink scars here. It really depends on the patient, and most tend to get better with time.

There are things that can be done with poor scarring, but there are also limitations. Some scars are greatly improved by steriod injections or silicone tape, but not all. Some scars can be improved with a scar revision at a later date.

I would recommend consulting with a board certified plastic surgeon and go over this in detail with him or her. You can sort of think as the scars as a trade off for better contour and shape.

Most often during a small to moderate sized tummy tuck, scars can be put in a small area where they can be hidden easily. Larger cases requiring longer incisions ( for example- lower body lift patients) often can find the incisions harder to hide or require changes in clothing to hide them.

The main trade-off for a significantly improved abdominal shape is the scar. Anytime you get a cut on your skin you will have a scar. Scars are a natural part of healing. If you think about it – your very first scar in life is your belly button. We all have it so we are not bothered by it.

Most scars heal well and the tummy tuck scars are placed low enough to be covered by most underwear or bathing suits – depends on how thin the bikini is. You bascially have to decide whether it is worth it for you – shape vs scar. You can have your surgeon draw the scar on your skin to see if it is acceptable to you.

When I perform a consultation for a woman considering a tummy tuck, there are three techniques we employ to ensure the scar is not visible.

1. Ask my patients to bring in their swimsuit of undergarments when we perform the skin marking at the time of surgery in order to place the scar where most appropriate for that particular patient.

2. Fix the scar to the deep tissue so it does not

For the most part tummy tuck incisions can be kept low by anchoring and layering the sutures appropriately.

To make certain that your scar falls within your desired level; I suggest you bring your underpants/bikini bottom the day of your consult and day of surgery.

We always aim to place the incisions at a location where they will be concealed by the patient’s two piece bathing suit line. The success of this depends on several factors, not the least of which is how minimal your suit will be.

The main thing is planning the location of the incision properly, by accounting for the fact that as we pull down on the skin from above, the lower edge of the incision gets pulled up, and we need to plan accordingly. I usually demonstrate how this is accounted for to patients when i first go over the plan, in front of a mirror at the time of consultation. A mistake in this planning process is not uncommon, and can result in a high incision.As a general rule, the aim is to remove all the skin from the top of the belly button down to the level the incision has been made, and to “share” the remaining skin between the upper and lower abdomen.

Sometimes there just isn’t enough skin in the upper abdomen to do that, without bending the patient during the surgery at the hips to a greater degree than is reasonable, in order to bring the incision edges together. this produces unreasonable tension on the incision, and may result in the scar widening, the wound breaking down, etc.

Instead, We sometimes close the old belly button hole with a vertical incision which extends in a “T” up from the main incision for a centimes or two, and this may extend above your bikini line, but usually fades to the point it isn’t a factor.

But as other surgeons have commented, it is important to bring in your own undergarment or bathing suit bottom so that the needed incision pattern can be decided between you and your surgeon.

I do tell patients that in the time I have been in practice, bathing suit lines have changed and will continue to change. we have seen the high cut Brazilian bikini, the low-low “boy short” lines and everything between. The only certainty is that they will chafe again. Hopefully, your desire will be something moderate and in between.