Inidications

Tummy tucks are best suited to patients who have an excess of skin, with or without excess fat, particularly in the lower abdomen and love handles. The excess tissue can present in a number of different ways leading to a number of slight variations on the exact surgical procedure performed. The important point being that people who are in otherwise good health, almost regardless of age, and who have excess abdominal skin and fat are candidates for one or other variation of tummy tuck.

The best candidates are people who have reached a steady state in terms of their weight and size, and are no longer gaining or losing weight/size. Although the operation can be performed on people who still have some weight to lose, the best results are always seen in people who are already at their best sustainable weight. That is, the weight at which their body gravitates towards when they are performing realistically, long-term, sustainable amounts of exercise and are not actively pursuing a weight-loss diet.

Although it is possible to have a successful pregnancy following an abdominoplasty, this is not advised, as much of the surgical improvements would be lost when the abdomen is enlarged with pregnancy.

People who are not in generally good health should not contemplate this procedure. Diabetes is not a contraindication to having a tummy tuck, although the surgical procedure is altered slightly to make the recovery simpler.