Abdominoplasty (also known as the “tummy tuck”) has grown in popularity by over 100% since the turn of the millennium. And, contrary to common misconceptions, abdominoplasty isn’t just a surgical solution for women.
It’s also been growing in popularity with men. Both women and men can benefit from the skin tightening, fat removal, and muscle strengthening made possible with abdominoplasty.
At Turkle & Associates, our world-class plastic surgeons provide abdominoplasty in Indianapolis for patients looking to refine their contours and rediscover their confidence in their bodies.
What Is a Tummy Tuck?
Many people think of abdominoplasty as a way to get rid of pinchable belly fat. While they’re not wrong, tucking a tummy can be a more complex procedure than some may realize. Not only can an abdominoplasty procedure remove excess fat, it can also be used to remove excess skin and tighten abdominal muscles.
Abdominoplasty has also evolved over the past decades. The surgical procedure is now safer and more effective than ever, thanks to the development of improved tools and techniques.
One of the biggest developments has been a shift to an approach of customizing the operation to the unique needs and goals of the patient. Our team at Turkle & Associates is committed to personalizing the abdominoplasty surgery to each patient in order to maximize results and minimize scarring and downtime.
What to Expect From an Abdominoplasty in Indianapolis
So what can you expect from the procedure? The surgery typically involves one incision from hip to hip and another around the navel. The skin above the navel is pulled down, excess fat and skin are removed, and the rectus muscles are brought back together with sutures.
Most patients at Turkle & Associates do not require drainage holes near the incision. For this drainless tummy tuck method, we tack the tissues back to the abdominal wall using dissolving sutures.
What Is Diastasis Recti?
Diastasis recti refers to the separation and weakening of the abdominal rectus muscles. This commonly occurs as the result of pregnancy, but the condition can also affect men.
For mothers, the fascia between the two muscles gets stretched during pregnancy and often doesn’t return to the middle after delivering the baby. Because of this, your internal organs have a tendency to push forward when you stand, giving you that post-pregnancy pooch.
Abdominoplasty in Indianapolis can be used to strengthen these muscles and bring them back together with advanced suturing techniques. Because of the prominence of diastasis recti in mothers, we often incorporate a tummy tuck into mommy makeover treatment plans.
Misconceptions About Abdominoplasty
One of the biggest misconceptions about abdominoplasty is that the surgery is somehow a substitute for diet and exercise. If weight loss is your primary goal, there may be better options for you.
Many patients actually find themselves needing an abdominoplasty after losing a significant amount of weight. If you’re more than 20 pounds over your ideal weight, diet and exercise (or other interventions) are probably a better bet.
Abdominoplasty isn’t a weight loss solution, though it can be a great complement to weight loss interventions. It’s also important to note that not all kinds of fat in the abdominal area can be addressed with an abdominoplasty in Indianapolis.
We can remove small to moderate amounts of adipose, pinchable fat during a tummy tuck, but not the visceral fat located behind the abdominal muscles.
Who Is a Good Candidate for Abdominoplasty in Indianapolis?
The best candidates for abdominoplasty in Indianapolis are over the age of 18, at a reasonable level of fitness, and at a healthy weight.
Abdominoplasty might be right for you if you feel like you’ve tried everything you can to slim down but still can’t get rid of excess fat and skin in the tummy area. If you have moderate to severe skin laxity, you may have found that the loose skin becomes even more loose as you’ve continued to lose weight.
As always, the best and only way to know for sure if an abdominoplasty is right for you is to schedule your consultation with one of our specialists. Before coming in for your appointment, we’ll do a photo assessment (reviewing images of the proposed treatment area sent by you) to gather as much information as we can beforehand and so we can make the most of your time.
At your consultation appointment, we’ll examine your abdominal area, review your medical and treatment history, and get to know how we can best support your needs and goals.
Abdominoplasty in Indianapolis vs. Liposuction
Liposuction is good for removing exercise-resistant pockets of fat just beneath the skin, so long as your skin is tone enough to snap back into place. If your skin is loose, removing fat via liposuction will likely worsen the appearance of loose skin.
Liposuction can be used on many areas of the body, including the abdomen, inner and outer thighs, arms, knees, under the chin, calves, and ankles.
At Turkle & Associates, we perform liposuction by inserting a small cannula or catheter under the skin into the fatty area between the skin and muscle. We then use suction to remove small tunnels of fat. As your body recovers, these tunnels will naturally collapse and debulk the treatment area.
The advantages of liposuction include small incisions, less downtime than an abdominoplasty, and the fact that you’ll be able to drive and go back to work in 3 to 5 days.
Abdominoplasty in Indianapolis vs. Noninvasive Treatments
There are a variety of noninvasive and nonsurgical aesthetic treatments for eliminating fat that can even minimize mild skin laxity, but none of them can replicate the fat elimination and skin tightening of an abdominoplasty. That being said, they still have their place, and you can get these high-tech treatments at Phases Skin Care & Laser Center.
CoolSculpting destroys fat cells through a controlled application of extremely cold temperatures without damaging surrounding tissues in the process.
PHYSIQ takes a much warmer approach. It uses SDM (super luminescent diode matrix) for deep-tissue heating that results in fat reduction and EMS (electrical muscle stimulation) technology to tone muscles.
These noninvasive treatments are best suited for small areas of exercise-resistant fat and for patients within 15 pounds of their ideal weight.
The fat cells destroyed by both CoolSculpting and PHYSIQ are naturally eliminated by the body through the lymphatic and digestive systems.
Some of the advantages of these nonsurgical, noninvasive fat reduction treatments include no downtime and being able to return to life and work as normal after each treatment session.
Disadvantages include needing at least 2 to 3 treatments to achieve optimal results.
When receiving treatments that reduce fat, keep in mind that they are not likely to tighten loose skin more than a modest amount. It’s not always easy for you to know if skin laxity after body sculpting will be an issue for you without expert evaluation.
Tummy Tuck and Liposuction
We typically do a little bit of liposuction over the mons pubis and the lateral hips to give a little more definition to the waist. Some patients benefit from liposuction on the hip roll areas on the lower back. This would be done in addition to your abdominoplasty in Indianapolis, but it can be done as a separate part of the same procedure.
Normally, this would entail positioning the patient face-down, liposuctioning areas on the back, and then repositioning you on your back for the abdominoplasty.
Recovery From Abdominoplasty in Indianapolis
Patients should be able to drive again and return to their desk jobs in 10 to 14 days. But this does vary from patient to patient, as it largely depends on the individual patient’s pain tolerance.
It’s best to avoid cardio for 2 weeks after the procedure to avoid stirring up bleeding. We also urge all of our patients recovering from an abdominoplasty to do no heavy lifting, pushing, pulling, bending, twisting, or strenuous activity for 6 weeks afterward to allow the wounds to heal adequately.
That being said, not all activity is detrimental throughout the healing process. After 1 to 2 weeks, you may benefit from taking short walks.
Risks of Abdominoplasty in Indianapolis
You can be certain that we do all we can to ensure the safety of all of our patients at Turkle & Associates. But, as with all surgical procedures, getting an abdominoplasty does come with a few risks.
One of these risks includes blood clotting. To mitigate this risk, we’ll prescribe an anticoagulant to be taken for 10 days after surgery.
Residual numbness is another risk. Almost everyone who gets a tummy tuck will experience some degree of numbness above the incision site, but the numb area should shrink in the years after the operation.
Ready to Plan Your Abdominoplasty in Indianapolis?
Turkle & Associates is a premier provider of abdominoplasty in Indianapolis and the surrounding areas. Dr. Turkle is a top plastic surgeon in Indianapolis and is dual board-certified by the American Board of Surgery and the American Board of Plastic Surgery.
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