Tummy Tuck

Dr. Richard Hamilton performs tummy tuck surgery at his Adelaide, Australia practice.

Dr. Hamilton: "A tummy tuck is called an abdominoplasty. Many women, after being pregnant and having several children, or even some who were just born that way, develop a saggy, protruding abdomen, and it causes them distress because they can’t fit into nice tight jeans and nice tight outfits. So it really impacts their life in a big way. There is an operation called an abdominoplasty, or tummy tuck, and there are two types: there’s a mini tummy tuck for those who just have a bit excess skin in the abdomen. It might be associated with cesarean scar, and we can eliminate that scar and eliminate that skin without interfering with the navel. That’s a very quick operation and a very quick recovery. The conventional, or major tummy tuck procedure that involves a longer incision in lower abdomen, lifting up the skin from muscle right up to the ribs, then we’ve got to tighten the muscles like creating an internal corset. This helps to shape the waist. Then we disconnect the umbilicus and trim away the surplus skin and close up. I usually in connection with that do some liposuction around the flanks to assist with contouring of the waist. The operation takes 3 to 4 hours, they’re in recovery for an hour, then they can go home. Or if they’re from out of town, they can go to Narinna House and recover there. In terms of recovery, it is painful for a few days, they do have to walk around in a crouched position because the closure is quite tight, and they’ve got to protect that, but over the course of 7 days they straighten up, and within 2 to 3 weeks they can get back to work. Many of these patients have been through the rigmarole of diet and exercise, they’ve gone to gym, they’ve lost weight, they’ve toned their muscles, but they can’t overcome the effects of childbirth and pregnancy, where you’ve got really stretched muscles and tendons and skin, and they won’t retract. They can build up muscle, but can’t reposition those muscles. That’s where the tummy tuck comes into it. I can do that, I can tighten muscles and bring them back into a normal position so they can have a flat tummy and shapely waist."