Tummy Tuck Before & After Case 149

This very athletic 42 year old mother of 3 from Oklahoma was unhappy with the appearance of her abdomen. She has been vigilant at maintaining a healthy lifestyle, running 3 miles per day and keeping a trim figure. After delivering 2 children via c-section, she underwent a "mini" tummy tuck (by another surgeon) that was rather disappointing - it left a full length abdominoplasty scar but only tightened the lower abdomen and did not remove many of her stretch marks. After delivering a third child via c-section, she was disheartened over the appearance of her stomach, especially since her lifestyle included many activities where it might be visible (she is an avid surfer!)

During a visit to my Dallas plastic surgery office, she was rather happy to find that she was still a candidate for an aggressive "standard" tummy tuck despite her multiple abdominal operations and previous mini-abdominoplasty. During my examination, I noted that she had moderate skin laxity across the full abdomen, with more laxity above the umbilicus. She had stretch marks across the lower central abdomen, and a hipbone to hipbone length abdominoplasty scar. Her muscles were well defined and solid, consistent with her vigorous exercise program.

The operation took just over 2.5 hrs to complete and proceeded very smoothly. I did find old permanent sutures in the midline below the umbilicus (remnants of the tightening from the mini-tuck), but she still had a 4cm separation of the rectus muscles. I tightened her abdominal wall by 6cm, and removed all of the skin from below the umbilicus (370gm!). Her recovery was fairly routine, and she returned to Dallas two months after surgery for a scar check and photos. She has a very tight and flat abdomen with a significant reduction in the amount of visible stretch marks. We are continuing with scar care, and she is beginning to resume her normal exercise routine.