Weight loss with tummy tuck
Ussually, one does not lose that much weight from a tummy tuck. It is the new shape and flat abdomen which are the more impressive features.
You will actually gain weight initially after a tummy tuck procedure due to fluid retention. Tummy tucks are used to tighten loose skin and bring together separated stomach muscles. It is not a form of weight loss. Majority of patients will only lose 1-5 pounds but will notice a more impressive decrease in inches to the waistline.
You will actually gain weight immediately after a tummy tuck because of fluids used during tummy tuck surgery.
Tummy tuck is not done for weight loss. Tummy tuck is done to tighten loose skin AFTER you have lost weight.
Weight loss with tummy tuck photo
The actual tissue removed varies from about a pound in a mini tummy tuck to as much as 5-6 lbs of tissue during a full abdominoplasty. An abdominal lipectomy or panniculectomy can be done on morbidly obese people and can remove a great deal of tissue that weighs many, many pounds.
The average weight of the tissue we removed varies from 2 to 6 pounds (more in larger women). But – weight loss is NOT the goal of an Abdominoplasty.
Weight loss with abdominoplasty
The purpose is a tightening of the abdominal wall, flattening anteriorly and eliminating “the pooch”, removing any loose tummy skin, MILD lifting of a sagging pubic mound (Mons pubis), creating a narrower waist and, if a High Lateral Tension Abdominoplasty is performed, a mild lifting of the thighs with some smoothing of cellulite.
For small frames, less than a pound from the surgery itself. Many patients lose 3-6 lbs. The largest pannus (abdominal skin and tissue) I removed weighed 65 lbs. That being said, many women are so inspired after a tummy tuck they lose 15 to 30 lbs with proper diet and exercise.
Weight loss with tummy tuck photos
Tummy tuck is not a weight loss surgery and weight loss is not an appropriate measure of success with tummy tuck. Before and after pictures often do show results that look like a great deal of weight was lost, but much of that can be due to the flattening effect of the muscle repair in addition to the skin and fat removed.
Nonetheless (just out of curiosity since patients do ask) we have weighed a number of the resections in tummy tucks of different sized patients during surgery.
In my practice, the specimen may weigh less than 2 pounds in a thin and petite patient, roughly 4 pounds in an average to “average plus” height-weight patient and rarely may even exceed 8 pounds. Obese patients are typically instructed to work on weight loss first, greatly decreasing the potential risks of the procedure and promoting a safer, more predictable recovery.
Weight loss with tummy tuck picture
Hope springs eternal but the truth is skin and fat are some of the least dense and lightest tissues in our body. While it may seem you have yards and yards of both, when all is said and done do not expect to be more than four to six pound lighter after a full tummy tuck–or less.
And don’t get on a scale right away. You will retain water in the surgical areas for at least two weeks so your new post operative weight will not be truly evident until three or four weeks later.
In twenty five years of practice I have had:
- As many patients claim they lost some weight from the surgery as those who claimed it made no difference
- Truly wonderful patients who loved their new look but didn’t give a damn what they weighed
- Patients who came around a month later and lost more weight after the surgery than we measured when it came off on the operating table.
