Tummy Tuck – Abdominoplasty Before And After Photos

You will stay in hospital for three to five nights following your surgery. You can go home as soon as you’re comfortable and able to get to and from the bathroom.

When you get home, you should limit your movements to around the house for two to three days to ensure a complete recovery.

Dr Hunt will see you weekly for the first month after your surgery. Time between your visits will get longer as your recovery progresses.

You’ll be off work for around three to four weeks depending on the intensity of your role.

It will take around three weeks until you are fully recovered and can resume all your normal activities.

For the first 10 days after surgery you’ll be stooped and will have to walk carefully. However as the skin stretches and gets used to its new position you will slowly straighten up.

The benefits of your abdominoplasty will be immediate, although it may take up to two months until you can appreciate the full results. It will also take at least a year for your scar to mature and fade.

After the surgery has finished, Dr Hunt will contact your next of kin (NOK) to let them know that the surgery has been completed and gone well. Dr Hunt will also give them a time frame on when they can expect to hear from their loved ones. Dr Hunt will visit his patients on a daily basis while they are in hospital, as will Dr Hunt’s practice nurse. This is to ensure that they are progressing well through the early postoperative period and all of their needs and expectations are being met. Following discharge from hospital, a follow-up appointment will be arranged for the patient in Dr Hunt’s Rooms for appropriate dressing changes and in the longer term, to ensure that the result meets their expectations.

During an abdominoplasty, the belly button that you have will be reshaped and refashioned but will stay in the same location. We do not make a new belly button, instead we work around the current belly button position to create a good looking natural belly button that fits the proportions of your re-contoured abdomen.

Having had an abdominoplasty does not stop you falling pregnant and does not stop you carrying a pregnancy to full term. After the baby is born there may be a return of sagging or stretched muscles and the final results of the abdominoplasty may need to be revised if the skin does not return to its pre-pregnancy position. Rest assured, having a tummy tuck does NOT mean that you cannot fall pregnant or could not carry a full-term pregnancy.

Dr Hunt believes that the results of body contouring should look good from the front, the sides and the back. To achieve this he will often use liposuction of the lower back to improve the contour of the lower back and the love handles. Dr Hunt’s intention with abdominal contouring is to use the most appropriate procedure to achieve the result that shows an improvement in contour from the front, the back, as well as the sides.

It is a common myth that any problem area we have with our tummies can be tackled with an abdominoplasty, but many patients’ tummy stretch marks remain after surgery procedure. Stretch marks can only be removed during an abdominoplasty if they are in the ‘zone of resection’ which is where the tissue is cut off and removed. This estimated zone should be drawn by your surgeon beforehand so that you will know how many stretch marks will be removed and remain.

In terms of removing the remaining stretch marks, unfortunately there is no definite solution. However, we have seen good results by combating areas with a Fraxel laser. This innovative laser treatment helps to restore the youthful appearance of skin. By using thousands of microscopic laser columns, each just one tenth the diameter of a hair follicle, the laser is able to treat a fraction of skin at a time without affecting surrounding tissue. These laser columns stimulate the production of younger, smoother and healthier skin, replacing damaged or stretched tissue. If the marks are pink in tone, this laser can also diminish the colour, making them less noticeable.

Laser treatments are becoming a faster and cost-effective alternative to surgery. Even though you are not going under the knife, it is still crucial to know what to expect. As with most laser treatments, patients describe a sensation of heat during the treatment. To minimise discomfort, anesthesia is applied before the procedure and cold air is used on the area during. A Fraxel laser treatment may leave you feeling as if you have been sunburnt for first 24 hours of your treatment, with a pink or red tinge to the skin. This skin will start to bronze over the next week or two and with continued sessions, the sunburn to bronze cycle with continue. If skin dries out or flakes, moisturiser can be used to reduce the appearance.

Unlike the recovery time needed with a tummy tuck – abdominoplasty, results from Fraxel treatment should be faster, with less pain. However, this varies depending on the condition of your skin and how well you look after it. Those who use high SPF sunscreen during recovery and do not have sustainable sun damage should be able to say goodbye to those pesky stretch marks within two to three sessions!

Following a tummy tuck – abdominoplasty, the patient will be expected to stay in hospital from three to five days, depending on the type of procedure and patient. On return home, there will be a period where activities will be limited. Dr Hunt suggests patients should only move from the lounge room to the bedroom and the bathroom for the first week after their operation. They will not be in a position to do housework or return to work and should be cared for by a friend or family member.

During the second week after surgery, patients are able to move out of the house and are expected to return to Dr Hunt’s Rooms for a routine follow-up. Over the course of the second week, patients will be able to achieve and tolerate an ever-increasing level of activity. You’ll need to wear compression garments for a month, so don’t plan to be back at work for at least three weeks. Depending on the abdominoplasty, Dr Hunt would expect patients to be able to return to work after three to four weeks and can return to sporting activities at six weeks, building up to a full return of activities at approximately three months.

There can be degrees of swelling after a tummy tuck – abdominoplasty that can be persistent and some patients can experience episodes of swelling, particularly above their scar, that are related to periods of vigorous exercise. This can occur up to 12 months after surgery procedure.

An abdominoplasty is an invasive procedure and Dr Hunt encourages his patients to spend time in hospital in the early stages after their surgery. The duration of the hospital stay will depend on the type of abdominoplasty performed and may range from three to five days. You will have to be extremely careful walking for the first ten days.

Drains allow the removal of fluid that accumulates following a surgical procedure. As all of the wounds will be closed, we do not want a collection of fluid underneath the wound as this can lead to wound breakdown and infection issues. The purpose of the drain is to remove the fluid that naturally weeps from the tissue after surgery in the first few days. Once the volume of fluid in the drain decreases, the drains will be removed. Drains remain an important part of the abdominoplasty to minimise wound complications, such as wound infection and wound breakdown.

The duration off work will be determined by the type of abdominoplasty performed. In cases of mini-abdominoplasty, it may be possible to return to work within a week or two. Patients who have undergone a more extensive body contouring procedure, such as an extended abdominoplasty or lower body lift, can expect a much longer recovery time and will be able to return to work up to four weeks after their surgery.

It is advised that patients will not be able to go to the gym for approximately six weeks after their abdominoplasty. If a patients returns to physical exercise too vigorously in the early stages after their surgery, it can lead to swelling, potential bleeding and wound complications. Dr Hunt encourages his patients to make a slow and steady return to normal activities and patients can expect to return to the gym six weeks after their abdominoplasty.

A well-performed abdominoplasty will allow weight gain and weight loss of approximately 10 kg in either direction without compromising the results of the tummy tuck. The abdominoplasty is designed to re-proportion and re-distribute the shape of the abdomen and it will withstand reasonable shifts in weight either up or down.

The initial consultation is an opportunity to meet Dr Hunt, establish your desires and understand what you want from their procedure. During the consultation, there will be an assessment of your needs and expectations, and then following examination, a surgical plan will be developed to achieve those outcomes and manage expectations.

Different patients will require different procedures and there are a number of different types of abdominoplasties that can be performed. During the consultation, Dr Hunt will determine which tummy tuck – abdominoplasty procedure will work best to achieve the best possible outcome for the patient to get the results they desire. You will receive a complete quote for the cost of their abdominoplasty after their initial consultation with Dr Hunt.

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• Liposuction
• Labiaplasty by Dr. Maryam
• Fluer de lis abdominoplasty
• Upper Body Lift
• Lower Body Lift
• Upper Arm Lift
• Thigh Lift