tuning up the tummy after pregnancy

If you have had children, you understand how easy it is to feel delighted with your child yet disappointed with what pregnancy has done to your body. The tummy is an area of particular concern among mothers, especially mothers that have had multiple pregnancies.

Luckily, experienced plastic surgeons offer procedures like abdominoplasty or lipo-abdominoplasty to restore a flat abdomen and smaller waist. A post-pregnancy tummy tuck can boost your self-esteem and help you regain the confidence you had before the baby.

Here Northern New Jersey Plastic Surgeon Dr. Erwin Bulan explains the steps he and his patients take to “tune up” the tummy after pregnancy.

IDENTIFY THE SPECIFIC CONCERNS

Every woman is different and has her own set of unique needs and goals. Our first objective is to identify the individual patient’s specific concerns. Tummy tuck patients are usually bothered by some combination of the following: extra fat, extra skin, muscle laxity, stretch marks and scars on the abdomen.

SELECT THE BEST SURGICAL TECHNIQUES

Based on a patient’s detailed areas of concern, Dr. Bulan can develop a treatment plan to address all of these components. The treatment plan may include:

  • removing excess pockets of fat from the abdomen and waist
  • tightening the abdominal muscles and stitching them into place
  • removing excess skin and tightening the remaining skin
  • improving the appearance of C-section scars

TIME THE PROCEDURE APPROPRIATELY

The timing of tummy tuck is important. Dr. Bulan encourages mothers to postpone tummy tuck until after they have finished having children. Although it is anatomically possible to have a safe pregnancy after tummy tuck, patients will see nearly all of the surgical improvements compromised.

PREPARE FOR RECOVERY

The tummy tuck recovery is tolerable, but it requires careful planning and lots of help from loved ones. Some plastic surgeons compare tummy tuck recovery to recovering from a C-section or hysterectomy, however the level of discomfort is overall less.

Patients need to concentrate on resting and relaxing for the initial recovery; this means they need someone to help around-the-clock with childcare, cooking, cleaning, laundry, walking the dog and other household tasks.

Every patient recovers at her own pace. However, patients can generally expect to be back to day-to-day family responsibilities about one week after surgery, back to work about two weeks after surgery and back to a light exercise routine about six weeks after surgery.

SCHEDULE A TUMMY TUCK CONSULTATION

If you have questions about the tummy tuck procedure, Dr. Bulan welcomes you to call (973) 467-9744 or contact his practice today. He would be happy to sit down with you to discuss your particular needs in more detail.