Typically, within three to four months, patients should have little visible swelling left. Yet, it can take a full year for their final results to totally come in. Swelling is often the main culprit of why the tummy may not look flat during recovery. As this resolves, the tummy will begin to show it's new shape.
A protruding stomach appearance 2 years after a tummy tuck might be down to visceral fat and loose muscle. In such cases, patients need to lose weight to reduce the bloating that is still present. A visit to the plastic surgeon for further assessment or a second opinion might help.
Patients need to be in a pattern of maintaining a healthy diet and consistently exercising to keep their weight consistent before and after surgery. Ongoing weight fluctuations after tummy tuck surgery could alter your results.
Yes, you will when relaxed, slouching, not sitting up straight or bending over. Everyone, irrespective of how flat their stomach is when standing up, has this!
One of the most common signs of a tummy tuck gone wrong is the improper repositioning of your belly button. If you notice your navel is low or high, it may be because it's not shaped properly, or that tightening and pulling of the skin have altered its original shape and positioning.
Swelling is a normal part of tummy tuck recovery. Most of it will go away within the first two months, but some residual swelling can last for up to a year. There are steps you can take during your initial recovery to help minimize swelling and speed up the healing process.
While it is absolutely possible to lose weight after abdominoplasty, the amount of weight you can expect to lose depends on the type of procedure performed, how much excess skin you have, how much excess abdominal fat you have, and how much overall fat you need to lose.
One of the main reasons swelling occurs in the body is that the lymphatic system has been disrupted during surgery. I always remind my patients that swelling is an important part of the recovery process and is essential for healing!
The average duration for people who have just had an abdominoplasty to feel normal again is 4-6 weeks. Keep in mind though that the precise healing duration will vary from one person to another depending on the type of tummy tuck they had, their age, the kind of post-op care they receive, and their general health.
A great tummy tuck should leave you with smoother, slimmer abdominal contours. However, in a bad tummy tuck, patients may find that their post-surgical silhouette is not what they desired. Uneven shapes and lopsided contours are common complaints.
If you overdo your workouts, you may experience swelling and increased pain, which may indicate there are complications with your recovery process. If this occurs, see your plastic surgeon immediately.
While a small amount of weight gain and loss is normal for Munster residents, significant weight gain after a tummy tuck can, in fact, have a negative impact on your tummy tuck results. You can see increased belly fat, stretch marks, and loose or stretched skin.
Tummy tuck results aren't immediate:
Most of the swelling will resolve after the first month. But it takes quite a while to completely go away. I tell patients to expect 90% of the swelling will be gone after three months. But it may be six months before the swelling completely resolves, and you see your final results.
By removing excess fat and skin, and tightening abdominal muscles, you will see a smoother surface and a smaller waistline. Your clothes will fit better. However, it's important to understand that your surgery results may take some time to reveal themselves.
Start Working Out Those Abs
After about 5-6 weeks following your tummy tuck procedure, and once your surgeon has given you approval, you can gradually start to expand your exercise program, including pilates and yoga. Again, a personal trainer is an invaluable resource during this time.
The purpose of a compression garment is to support the surgical site, the incisions, and the affected skin. If your compression garment is too tight, it will affect circulation and hinder healing. A compression garment should only exert gentle, supportive pressure, so it should lay flat and smooth on the skin.
After any type of surgery, the skin can build up adhesions and scars as part of the healing process. However, the body can abnormally increase the production Fibroblast (a main connective tissue cell present in the body) in the form of bands which connect two or more tissues causing hardness under the skin.
Excess skin that is removed during tummy tuck surgery should not come back. However, body contouring procedures do not necessarily prevent unwanted changes in your appearance over time. For example, weight gain or pregnancy may cause the skin to stretch out again after a tummy tuck.
Tummy tucks can produce belly buttons that are too round, too narrow or too tight and have a visible circular scar around them. “This is often a dead giveaway for a tummy tuck.”
A tummy tuck revision is designed to correct and improve the appearance of the abdomen following complications and unwanted side effects from a previous tummy tuck. Depending on the degree of correction required, this procedure can consist of various types of surgery.
To summarize, following cosmetic surgery tummy tuck, most women will go down a size or two in their clothing size. Some woman won't have a change of size, and rarely some will actually go up in size.
What's Left Over: Fat or Skin? If you remain dissatisfied with your results after waiting and fully healing, it's time to examine why. Some common reasons for tummy tuck revision include inadequate skin or tissue removal, residual fat deposits, or fatty bulges that develop in the midsection.