subject: Improving the Abdominal Area through Tummy Tuck and Liposuction [print this page] Improving the Abdominal Area through Tummy Tuck and Liposuction
There are two ways to improve the abdominal area through plastic surgery: the tummy tuck which involves a long incision below the navel to remove the excess tissues, skin, and fats, and the abdominal liposuction which only eliminates the bulging fats in the area.
Because the abdominal liposuction is less invasive than tummy tuck and does not result to any scars, most plastic surgeons would recommend this procedure if this can provide a satisfying result. But unfortunately, this procedure is not ideal to patients whose problem is not just the excess fats but also the drooping tissues and skin in the abdomen.
Most liposuction procedures nowadays involved the use of the tumescent solution which can make the fats swollen and turn these into a liquid form, allowing plastic surgeons to easily remove these with little effect on the surrounding tissues.
With this solution which is injected directly on the tummy, there is no need to use general anesthesia. In fact, the anesthetic effect of the lidocaine, which is the main ingredient of the tumescent solution, may last for up to 36 hours which means that most patients can avoid additional pain medications.
The cannula, which is a fat-suctioning probe, has also made the abdominal liposuction safer nowadays compared to earlier years with its slender body which minimizes the risk of nerve and tissue damage. In addition, the new cannulas produce an accurate and controlled vibration which can effectively dislodge the fats without the need for plastic surgeons to manually thrust the instrument which usually involves higher risk of surgical trauma.
According to several studies, the power-assisted cannula has been found to eliminate 30 percent more fats compared to the manual liposuction.
But in case the abdominal liposuction will not provide the most desired result, tummy tuck is the most recommended plastic surgery procedure which can improve the appearance of the abdomen.
In this procedure, doctors make a horizontal incision below the navel with its length depending on the amount of excess tissues which must be removed. But generally, the hipbone-to-hipbone incision is ideal to those who need the most correction while the shorter cut is recommended to patients who have a minimal to moderate excess tissues and skin.
In some cases, tummy tuck is performed in conjunction with the abdominal liposuction. But to minimize the surgical trauma, most plastic surgeons perform the liposuction first on their patients, and after several months of recovery, they will then complement this with tummy tuck.
