Tummy Tuck

[00:00:03.040] Cosmetic surgery has become very popular. [00:00:09.440] One of the most common procedures that we do here [00:00:13.080] is what is referred to as a tummy tuck. [00:00:16.880] We call it an abdominoplasty or a torsoplasty, [00:00:21.360] addressing everything around the torso, [00:00:23.840] whether that involves a combination of liposuction in the love handles [00:00:29.480] and removing a little extra tummy skin and a little extra tummy fat. [00:00:33.400] It is a full operation that carries risks associated [00:00:36.800] with any other surgical procedure and anesthetic. [00:00:40.600] When the patient comes in for an abdominoplasty consultation, [00:00:44.560] we'll have a good assessment of the laxity of the tissue, [00:00:48.480] the amount of adipose, [00:00:49.720] the amount of fat that needs to be addressed, [00:00:52.560] the stretch marks that need to be addressed, [00:00:55.080] any separation of the muscles from pregnancy that need to be addressed. [00:00:59.440] Who is a good candidate for a tummy tuck? [00:01:03.880] I think that begins with, [00:01:05.080] who are the best candidates for anesthesia? [00:01:07.520] The way to answer that question is, [00:01:09.880] how do we take the anesthesia risks and surgery risks [00:01:13.360] and minimize those? [00:01:15.360] The biggest risk, I think, that we have in our abdominoplasty population [00:01:19.600] is a high BMI. [00:01:22.720] If patients can have their body mass index or their weight-to-height ratio in check [00:01:30.000] before they come in for a consultation, or certainly before surgery time, [00:01:36.240] then that's going to help set up for a really good result thereafter. [00:01:40.920] We always recommend [00:01:41.680] that the patients get fully educated on the process, [00:01:45.720] fully educated on the risks involved with the operation. [00:01:49.960] Part of that should include a consultation with another plastic surgeon. [00:01:55.320] The more educated a patient can be about their operation [00:01:59.760] and the potential outcomes, the better. [00:02:02.360] We have a website that has results that have been created here. [00:02:07.920] They're not borrowed results. [00:02:09.960] They're not made up results. [00:02:11.600] They're actual patient results. [00:02:13.800] I think that's a good place to start. [00:02:16.280] Patients can often find someone that has similar physique or body type [00:02:22.600] and can see what the result looks like. [00:02:26.000] It's very difficult to simulate procedures, simulate outcomes, [00:02:30.800] and one good way that we have [00:02:32.920] is to stand in front of a mirror with the patient [00:02:35.320] and pinch here and pinch there, and be sure that we get on the same page [00:02:39.520] as to what the result might look like. [00:02:41.680] Tummy tuck operations are one of the biggest recovery operations [00:02:45.600] that we have, [00:02:46.280] and that recovery really comes from putting the muscles back together [00:02:51.560] that were separated from, say, pregnancy [00:02:54.000] or in patients that have had massive weight loss [00:02:57.680] and may have been separated from when they were bigger. [00:03:00.640] So that is really the number one cause [00:03:04.360] of the lengthy recovery, which is about two weeks. [00:03:08.520] We do everything that we can to enhance the recovery, [00:03:12.320] whether it be from manipulation of the post-operative pain medications. [00:03:17.480] We do have an enhanced recovery protocol in which we try to minimize narcotics [00:03:23.720] and thus minimize the side effects of the narcotics as well. [00:03:29.080] All of that helps with the recovery process.