Medically termed as Abdominoplasty surgery, the tummy tuck is a surgical procedure that reshapes your abdomen. Excess skin is removed and stomach muscles are tightened to give you a tight looking tummy. A tummy tuck is normally done to improve the appearance of the abdominal area and not as a means to lose weight quickly.

Tummy tuck patients are usually people who have saggy tummy tummies and unsightly stretch marks that do not improve after proper diet and exercise. The cause of the saggy tummy could be from losing a lot of weight over a short period of time or from a previous pregnancy.

Sudden loss of weight usually results in loose hanging skin over the tummy. This is because the skin cannot shrink fast enough to keep up with the loss of body fat. In the case of a pregnancy, the skin might have been stretched to the point where it starts to lose its elasticity. This makes it difficult for the skin to shrink down after the pregnancy.

Being surgical in nature, a tummy tuck will leave a scar. The scar would be on the incision areas spanning from hip to hip and dipping towards the upper pubic area. Tummy tucks are performed by plastic surgeons and since these are the experts in the cosmetic surgery industry, they will ensure that the scars are not too visible. The incisions will also be placed below the bikini line so that clothing can hide it.

It is important to understand that the scars left behind could be a permanent feature of your new tummy. The surgeon?s ability to minimize the scarring is also greatly affected on the way your body heals. Some people heal with very little scar while others will naturally heal with very noticeable scars.

In some cases, a full-blown tummy tuck will not be necessary. For these patients, they have the option of undergoing a mini tummy tuck along with a liposuction to address their abdominal appearance woes. There will be less scarring for mini tummy tucks and the recovery time will be much shorter.