Am I A Good Candidate for A Tummy Tuck?
How To Know If You Should Consider A Tummy Tuck Procedure After Children
BY AMBER DAWN LEE
The best decision I’ve ever made in my life was to have my daughter years ago. The second best decision was having a full tummy tuck. Now, I love my girl, but she stretched me out, inside out! Listen sister, she must have been doing clogging lessons in there, because my tummy looked like a world map after she was born.
I’ve always been thin, so I didn’t realize I could be a candidate for a tummy tuck, until years later. I had so many experiences where I was hiding my scarring out of shame. I should be proud, but I wasn’t. I want the focus to not be on my marks, but on me. So my experience having stretch marks, and going without can assure you, it’s so much better without. As modern women are marching on for the greatest good of the world, and our families, we want to also feel like we look our finest. For me it was loose skin and dark stretch marks all below the belly button. Other candidates are patients with not just extra skin or stretch marks, but weakened abdominal muscles from being pregnant.
Most of us would love to get a flat tummy through exercise alone, but the nature of some body types, as well as damage caused by pregnancy or yo-yo dieting can mean that no amount of exercise will give you the results you want. When I met with Dr. Lisa Cassileth for a consultation, which I highly recommend, she informed me that each patient is different, and there are several types of abdominoplasty techniques. I could pull my skin up and tie it in a bow! I was a candidate.
Dr. Lisa Cassileth removed my excess skin and fat, and skillfully re-positioned my belly button to its natural place. It looks fantastic. Dare I say I even look sexy?
The surgery went smoothly, I recovered within a couple of weeks (after watching a lot of reruns of Sex and The City) and I was up and at ‘em, ready to conquer the world. My scar is hidden in my bikini line and it healed and faded away to almost invisible. My muscles in my abdominal area were torn badly and that was the reason my middle always looked more round than I felt comfortable with. I repaired and restored my tummy, so I have muscle tone again. I had no idea how bad I wanted muscle tone in my middle until I had lost it.
I still don’t wear half shirts, but when it’s time to go to the beach, I throw on a bikini without a thought in the world about my past stretch marks and extra skin. It’s gone, and it feels lighter, and I’m free to be myself when I’m not self-conscious.
Some gals don’t need the full thing, there are endoscopic mommy tucks, for beauties with minimal skin laxity. The incisions in the bikini line are hidden, not as large as the full tummy tuck scar placement was. There’s also a mini tummy tuck. How cute is that. It’s for the lucky ladies who don’t have as much skin, but want to tighten up the muscles from the inside.
Side note: My tummy tuck was over ten years ago, and it still looks great.
Patients who have undergone massive weight loss, such as after gastric bypass surgery, or those who develop rashes and/or infection under the overhanging tummy skin may qualify for their tummy tuck to be covered in part by their insurance company. Before surgery, Dr. Lisa Cassileth will have her team verify your benefits to see if your insurance plan provides coverage. (By the way, have you seen how beautiful her team is? Holy..wow!)
To learn more about your options with Tummy Tucks, contact Cassileth Plastic Surgery to set up a consultation with by calling 310-278-8200 or requesting an appointment online.
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