Tummy Tuck (Abdominoplasty) in Tampa
Before and After Photos of Tummy Tuck Patients
If you live in the Tampa Bay area, you know that everyone has a different body shape, contour, and size. But many people aren’t satisfied with the look of their abdomen or other parts of their body, which is why cosmetic surgery procedures are so sought-after in this city. Genetics, diet, and lifestyle play a significant role, but Tampa plastic surgery procedures can help even further than diet and exercise.
Having children or undergoing a dramatic weight loss can leave one with loose abdominal skin, unsightly stretch marks, tummy rolls, and a protruding belly. Exercise and dietary changes alone typically cannot completely correct all of these problems.
Tummy tucks can address many of these issues. However, as with any plastic surgery procedure, a tummy tuck can only do so much. No amount of cosmetic surgery can substitute for a determined program of diet and exercise. Many abdominoplasty patients won’t realize the full effect of their results until they have made dedicated changes to their lifestyle and eating habits.
What is a Tummy Tuck?
Tummy tuck, also known as abdominoplasty, is a popular plastic surgery procedure that restores and enhances the appearance of the abdomen. It can be both cosmetic and functional in nature. Tummy tuck surgery can remove loose abdominal skin and excess fat, restore the belly button, flatten the tummy, tighten the waistline and even sculpt the torso. The result is a slimmer waist and toned abdomen. Most incisions can be hidden within panty or swimsuit lines, and the procedure typically requires from one to three weeks for recovery.
Board-certified plastic surgeon Dr. Marvin Shienbaum offers a number of tummy tuck procedures, each of which is outlined below.
1. Lipo Abdominoplasty
Lipo abdominoplasty is a very effective technique that combines the benefits of liposuction with a traditional tummy tuck procedure. This advanced technique removes excess fat from the tummy and other areas. Liposuction of the hips, thighs, flanks, and back areas allows Dr. Shienbaum to give the patient a much slimmer and more contoured waistline. Additional fat is sometimes removed from the pubic and inner thigh regions to provide a more sculpted overall appearance.
Advanced Laser Lipo with Vaser
The latest advancement Dr. Shienbaum has adopted for this procedure is Vaser liposuction, which melts away excess fat more effectively than older technologies. The advanced Vaser technique allows precise removal of unwanted fat. With a full tummy tuck and Vaser, the entire torso can be sculpted to remove any hint of excess external fat, define the underlying musculature, and shape the entire silhouette. Unflattering aesthetic issues like belly rolls, saddlebags, love handles, and muffin tops can all be effectively removed.
The selectivity of Vaser’s ultrasonic energy allows for a sleeker, more contoured torso than previously possible. While muscle and skin tightening can slim the waist, lipo abdominoplasty has added a whole new dimension in the quest for an hourglass-shaped waistline for Tampa patients.
The liposuctioned fat is often used by Dr. Shienbaum in a fat transfer procedure to rejuvenate a patient’s facial wrinkles and folds, provide fuller cheeks, enhance the shape and volume of their butt, fill cellulite depressions, and even augment the breasts.
The degree of body sculpting and muscular contouring achieved by combining Vaser liposuction with a tummy tuck can seldom be attained by either procedure on their own.
2. Tummy Tuck for Post-Pregnancy Issues & Belly Bulge
Pregnancy can commonly distend the abdominal wall, stretching the fascia and pushing the muscles apart. This condition is called diastasis recti. The separated abdominal wall muscles allow the bulging belly to persist long after childbirth. This occurs because the displaced muscles allow the inner abdominal organs or “gut” to bulge forward.
Abdominal crunches and sit-ups can strengthen the tummy muscles but cannot pull loose abdominal muscles back together. The distended fascia from pregnancy can continue to separate and spread, allowing the bulge to expand and the belly wall to protrude even further forward.
As a result of this abdominal wall weakness, the belly button can herniate and protrude through the thin fascia (umbilical hernia). While a bulging navel can frequently be pushed back into the abdomen by simple finger pressure, an umbilical hernia must be repaired during a tummy tuck or with a more simple procedure.
A tummy tuck procedure repairs the separated muscles and tightens the distended fascia. While exercise alone cannot retighten fascia or reposition the separated abdominal muscles, a thorough tightening of them with corset-type suturing can achieve dramatic results. This is an essential part of the tummy tuck procedure for Tampa, FL patients to regain their youthful shape.
3. Tummy Tuck & Mommy Makeover
Childbirth can often leave more than just abdominal issues, but also sagging and empty breasts. Dr. Shienbaum provides several options to improve deflated post-pregnancy breasts during a combination procedure called a mommy makeover.
Tummy Tuck With Breast Surgery
Breast augmentation can restore lost breast volume, but breast implants will typically only push the breasts forward and make sagging ones droop further. This provides more fullness and cleavage but does not really raise the breasts.
Breast lift, or mastopexy, is used to elevate sagging breasts that have retained youthful breast volume. Often, a breast lift is good for people whose nipples point downward and have a clear breast fold. A lollipop-type incision is used to lift and reshape the breast. If sufficient breast volume remains, the breast can be reshaped without the need for implants.
Augmentation mastopexy is required to correct both sagging, empty breasts and those that have lost volume. When the breast skin is both stretched and empty, an implant alone cannot restore the original breast contour and height. Tightening of the excess breast skin around an underlying implant is required to provide a shapely uplifted breast. This is essentially a breast lift + augmentation procedure that is easily performed simultaneously.
Fat transplantation, in which fat is removed from the tummy tuck procedure or other areas of the body, may be used to augment the breast size. When a breast augmentation or uplift is combined with a tummy tuck procedure, patients achieve a dramatic enhancement to their body contour in a single surgery, with one recovery period needed, rather than scheduling separate surgeries.
4. Abdominoplasty & Body Building
Tummy tuck surgery can remove loose abdominal skin, lipo excess fat, restore a normal belly button, flatten the tummy, tighten the waistline, and even sculpt the torso.
Some people are advocating tummy tucks and fat transfer to increase the size of their muscles for bodybuilding. However, while the initial results can be dramatic and immediately evident, the longevity of the procedure remains uncertain and potentially risky.
For long-term results, no amount of plastic surgery can substitute for a dedicated lifestyle of diet and exercise.
5. Tummy Tuck & Vaser Body Contouring
Having a slim, tight, muscular abdomen is the ideal body contour of the midsection. A sculpted silhouette emphasizes the natural muscular curves of the torso.
Body contouring techniques with Vaser liposuction can sculpt and define the abdominal musculature in ways never before possible. Muscular anatomy is enhanced through selective Vaser liposuctioning along muscle edge contours. Additional superficial Vaser lipo etching can help mimic a six-pack look.
Vaser lipo uses ultrasonic energy to effectively “melt” away the fat and define the muscle borders. Natural body contours are emphasized and enhanced by selectively removing fat in carefully defined muscular areas. The result is a sculpted, tighter abdomen with visible athletic contours, producing a unique “buff” appearance unobtainable without surgical intervention.
6. Tummy Tuck & Fat Transfer
Motherhood can leave more than just a distended midsection. Breastfeeding can lead to the deflation and sagging of once-firm and perky breasts. As the breasts lose volume and fullness, they appear drooping and less youthful. The entire body silhouette loses balance and proportion as a result. People who experience body changes such as this often have a sense of dissatisfaction and self-consciousness.
Florida patients seeking to restore the former volume and shape of their breasts commonly rely on breasts implants or a breast lift procedure (mastopexy). But thanks to modern fat transplantation techniques, excess fat removed during the tummy tuck procedure can now be utilized to naturally augment the breasts.
Combining these procedures can simultaneously restore youthful cleavage while also sculpting the waistline for a dramatic visual makeover. Tampa women can achieve improved self-esteem and personal confidence when the figure returns to its former youthful contour. The procedure is one of the most popular surgeries performed by Dr. Shienbaum.
7. Mini Tummy Tuck
A “Small Scar Tummy Tuck” or “mini abdominoplasty” can be used to treat smaller abdominal imperfections. Many people desire to limit the extent of the tummy tuck scar due to concerns about its appearance. It’s possible to use a smaller, much more inconspicuous scar when the cosmetic issue with the abdomen is limited to the area below the belly button.
Extra fat and excess skin below the belly button are particularly well suited for a mini abdominoplasty. The incision can typically be kept lower and smaller. Recovery time is also shorter with proportionately less healing time.
Through the smaller incision, the lower abdominal wall can be tightened and excess fat and skin removed. Often the navel (belly button) can be lowered or “floated” downward, creating the illusion of a longer torso and slimmer silhouette.
8. Tummy Tuck For Massive Weight Loss
Loose abdominal skin is a common unfavorable condition of dramatic weight loss. The skin does not fully retract, leaving irregular sagging abdominal skin folds. The excess loose skin in the umbilical area tends to “hood” and distort the navel. A tummy tuck can correct most excess skin problems and provide a more aesthetically pleasing navel.
9. Tummy Tuck & Waist Contouring
Achieving the ideal hourglass figure and a slim waistline requires not only excess skin and fat removal but also a tightening of the protruding abdominal fascia and muscles. During a waist contouring tummy tuck, the abdominal muscles are repeatedly sutured together in layers, producing an hourglass waist from the inside out.
Dr. Shienbaum incorporates strategically placed anchor sutures to contour the skin around the underlying musculature. The progressively tighter sutured layers create a smaller torso and a curved “hourglass” contour.
No amount of abdominal exercise can produce the waist “cinching” effect of retightening that occurs during a tummy tuck. The new body silhouette is visible through all kinds of clothing.
10. Tummy Tuck & Cesarean
Pregnancy stretches the abdominal muscles and skin apart. Often this is accompanied by a distended and bulging abdominal wall. The thinly stretched fascia simply cannot contain the protruding internal organs. A visible caesarian section scar and overhanging belly pouch is also a common complaint for post-pregnancy patients.
This abdominal distension frequently persists after childbirth. The C-section scar contracts and indents, leaving a shelf-like deformity. The scar itself is frequently discolored and irregular. Keloids and scar hypertrophy accentuate the damage. The abdomen appears distorted and unbalanced.
Core body workouts and abdominal exercises cannot totally correct distended fascia or separated musculature or C-section indentations. Scar creams and gels offer minimal improvement.
During a tummy tuck procedure, Dr. Shienbaum can remove the Cesarean scar and associated shelf malformation.
11. Tummy Tuck & Stretch Marks
Stretch marks are caused by the rapid expansion and contraction of skin, as seen with pregnancy and weight gain. It is the actual tearing of the underlying dermis which produces the scarring of the skin.
Hormones associated with pregnancy, bodybuilding, puberty, and dietary supplements may induce stretch marks by limiting the formation of the skin’s supporting collagen.
Approximately 80 percent of women will develop some form of stretch marks during pregnancy. Stretch marks (striae) following pregnancy are difficult to remove. Lasers, ultrasound, radiofrequency, vibratory massage, and a multitude of topical medications offer limited success. Tampa patients who undergo a tummy tuck procedure will typically remove most abdominal stretch marks located below the belly button.
12. Tummy Tuck & Abdominal Folds
The appearance of tummy rolls is actually formed of belly fat and skin suspended from the abdomen along lines of fibrous underlying tissue. The loose tissue rolls commonly seen after massive weight loss seem to hang in distinct abdominal folds.
These lines of adherence often follow the normal muscular contours and can be released during the tummy tuck procedure. Releasing these bands of fibrous tissue allows the abdominal skin to unfurl and lie smooth. Vaser liposuction can then liquefy and remove the remaining suspended fat layers while allowing the excess skin to shrink and contour. Longstanding abdominal rolls can often be completely removed, with only a thin superficial skin crease remaining.
Incorporating liposuction into a tummy tuck procedure can also reduce the final incision size. By reaching around the hips and flank areas with a specially designed, curved liposuction cannula, Dr. Shienbaum is also able to reduce the back and flank rolls that commonly protrude over waistbands. Liposuction can address these difficult posterior areas without the need to extend the tummy tuck incision to the back area.
Liposuction also allows for a lower tummy tuck incision. Because Vaser liposuction preserves nerves and blood vessels, fat can be more efficiently removed.
Dr. Shienbaum offers a wide range of incision options for tummy tuck surgery to accommodate many types of lingerie and swim suit styles, especially for his Tampa, FL patients. During your abdominoplasty consultation, be sure to explain your incision preferences to Dr. Shienbaum. This will better ensure that you are satisfied with the results of your procedure.
Tummy Tuck Consultation in Tampa, FL
If you’re at all curious about what a tummy tuck can help you achieve both in terms of self-confidence as well as physical appearance, don’t hesitate to schedule a consultation with Dr. Marvin Shienbaum, a board-certified plastic surgeon with extensive experience with highly versatile tummy tuck procedures. Call or contact us online to schedule your appointment today.
