Abdominoplasty (Tummy Tuck)

Tummy Tuck (Abdominoplasty) Scar Clinical Trial 2012

Dr. Mele is a principle investigator for a Tummy Tuck Scar Treatment Clinical Trial. For more information about the trial, and to see if you may qualify to participate, click here.

Abdominoplasty (Tummy Tuck) in San Francisco Bay Area - Walnut Creek

Abdominoplasty literally means changing the abdomen, and the change can be dramatic. Despite doing countless abdominal crunches and eating a healthy diet, many people find it extremely difficult to reduce excess fat in the abdominal area. When diet and exercise prove to be ineffective, abdominoplasty, also known as a tummy tuck, offers San Francisco area residents a great alternative. A tummy tuck can significantly reduce excess stomach fat and create a more toned, sculpted appearance. Dr. Joseph Mele has performed many successful tummy tuck procedures for people throughout San Francisco and Walnut Creek. If you are frustrated with excess abdominal fat, a tummy tuck is available at our San Francisco area office to help you achieve your goals.

Abdominoplasty (Tummy Tuck) Before and After Photos

The Tummy Tuck Procedure

Your tummy tuck procedure will be discussed in detail at our San Francisco Bay Area office in Walnut Creek, California. There are several options, so Dr. Mele will explain the procedure and speak with you about surgical goals and expectations. What distinguishes a tummy tuck from liposuction is its ability to not only remove abdominal wall fat, but to both tighten the abdominal wall muscles and remove loose skin. While both liposuction and abdominoplasty are surgical procedures, liposuction uses multiple small incisions to suction fat from under the skin. Abdominoplasty, uses an incision low on the abdominal wall to excise both skin and fat. Removing the excess skin allows the remaining abdominal skin to be tightened. An abdominoplasty also allows access to the abdominal wall muscles. When the abdominal wall muscles are loose, they can be tightened with sutures placed like an internal supportive corset. Many of our tummy tuck patients combine abdominoplasty with liposuction to obtain even better results.

Tummy Tuck Videos

Types of Abdominal Rejuvenation

Tumescent Liposuction, Suction Assisted Lipectomy (SAL) & Liposculpture

Cosmetic plastic surgery cannot substitute for a proper diet and exercise. However, there are some problems that diet and exercise alone cannot fix. Excess energy consumed is stored as fat. Where the fat is stored depends on your individual genetic programming. For some, it is the abdomen, and for others the thighs. When the fat is stored disproportionately it forms a bulge. It may not be possible to spot remove these fat bulges with diet an exercise alone. This type of fat is stubborn, and often other parts of the body appear gaunt and unhealthy before this stubborn fat is removed by weight loss. Liposuction, on the other hand, can be used to directly remove stubborn fat deposits, and provide you with a more proportionate shape.

If the abdominal skin is tight, localized disproportionate accumulations of fat can be efficiently removed with Tumescent Liposuction. If you have a belly bulge caused by fat, accompanied by both good muscle tone and good skin tone, tumescent liposuction provides a simpler and faster alternative to a tummy tuck. Unfortunately, Liposuction (SAL) cannot tighten loose skin. Even laser liposuction (LAL) and ultrasonic liposuction (UAL) cannot significantly tighten skin that has lost its tone. Liposuction may instead make loose skin look worse. Removing fat under loose skin removes the skin's support. This loss of support causes the skin to fold over. The problem is most prominant in the skin of the lower abdomen and above the belly-button. The tummy tuck, on the other hand, was designed specifically to address the problem of loose redundant skin.

Mini Tummy Tuck (Mini-Abdominoplasty)

Mini Abdominoplasty (Mini Tummy Tuck) Before and After Photos

When the laxity of the abdominal skin and muscle is isolated to the area below the belly-button (umbilicus), a mini tummy tuck may be the best option. A mini tummy tuck is often combined with liposuction of the upper abdomen and sides to further reduce unwanted abdominal wall fat and enhance your final result. A low abdominal incision is used to tighten the skin and muscles of the lower abdomen. The incision for a mini abdominoplasty is normally shorter than the incision for a "full" tummy tuck. This is because mini tummy tucks are usually performed when there is less redundant skin on the abdominal wall. Less skin to remove means a shorter scar is required.

Tummy Tuck (Abdominoplasty) With a "Floating" Belly-Button

When the abdominal skin and muscle laxity is isolated to the area below the belly-button, but there is also a small amount of loose skin just above the belly-button, a "floating" belly-button technique is used. This is not the usual way to do a tummy tuck. Patients who are good candidates for the "floating" belly-button technique need to be carefully selected by a Board Certified Plastic Surgeon experienced with the "floating" belly-button abdominoplasty technique. If you are a candidate, however, it usually means an enhanced result with the same scar as a mini tummy tuck, and no scar around the belly-button.

Tummy Tuck (Abdominoplasty)

The tummy tuck or abdominoplasty is the work horse of abdominal rejuvenation, and the gold standard to which every other abdominal tightening procedure is compared. It requires and incision low on the abdomen, and one around the umbilicus. The procedure not only tightens the abdominal skin, but removes excess fat and tightens the muscles of the abdominal wall. By tightening the abdominal muscle wall, a tighter foundation is created on which to build your new tummy. If the abdominal fat is primarily inside the abdomen, behind the abdominal muscles, it may not be possible to tighten the abdominal muscles. It is similar to trying to close an overstuffed suitcase. When too much fat is inside, the abdominal muscles cannot be satisfactorily tightened, leaving a rounded appearance. This situation is more common in men, but is also seen in women. For this reason, tummy tucks work better if you are near your ideal body weight. Fat outside the abdominal cavity, between the skin and the abdominal muscles, can be removed. This is often done as part of a tummy tuck to further flatten the belly.

Fleur-De-Lis Tummy Tuck (Fleur-De-Lis Abdominoplasty)

The fleur-de-lis tummy tuck is used when the skin laxity of the abdominal wall is massive. This is most often seen after bariatric surgery or weight loss of greater than 75 pounds. The fleur-de-lis abdominoplasty incorporates all the features of a tummy-tuck, and has an additional incision running down the middle of the abdomen. The vertical midline incision allows large excesses of skin to be directly removed from the central abdomen. It is the biggest abdominoplasty available, and is designed to reduce the most extreme amounts of excess abdominal skin.

The Lower Body Lift (Belt Lipectomy)

The lower body lift is a tummy tuck that extends all the way around the body. It is almost exclusively performed for post-bariatric surgery patients and for people who have lost large amounts of weight. Extreme weight gain leads to overstretched skin. When this is followed by a large weight loss, the skin cannot return to its original shape. A skirt of loose skin extending all the way around the trunk may be the result. In these cases, additional weight loss and muscle building will not improve the appearance. The excess skin needs to be removed with a lower body lift. The lower body lift is also called a belt lipectomy, because a belt of excess skin and fat is removed. The abdominal muscles can also be tightened to enhance the abdominal contours, like in a traditional tummy tuck. More information about this and other Post-Bariatric Cosmetic Plastic Surgery is available by clicking on Post Bariatrics under Procedures in the menu at the top of this page.

Tummy Tuck Recovery and Pain Control

Tightening the abdominal muscles makes them sore. While heavy lifting is avoided for six weeks, walking is encouraged. The sooner you get moving, the sooner you will feel better. Early ambulation has been shown to reduce surgical complications. To help get you moving right after surgery, Dr. Mele may recommend a post-operative pain relieving pump. The pumps infuse local anesthesia into the operative site. By delivering the pain medicine directly to the area that needs it, more effective pain relief is provided with fewer side effects. Since this type of anesthesia uses non-narcotic medications, there is no chance of dependency. Moreover, less narcotic medication is usually required when a pain pump is used. Information on two of these pain relieving pumps used can be downloaded in PDF format by clicking on the following links:

PDF document On-Q Pain Buster Post-Op Pain Control Pump

PDF document Accufuser Post-Op Pain Control Pump

Schedule a Tummy Tuck Consultation Today

A tummy tuck at our San Francisco area office may be the perfect solution for you, if you are in good health but frustrated with excess abdominal fat. Schedule a consultation at our Walnut Creek plastic surgery office to learn more.

Tummy Tuck (Abdominoplasty) Scar Clinical Trial 2012

If you are considering surgery for a tummy tuck, you may be interested in a post-surgical incision care research study.

General Information

We are now enrolling patients in a clinical research study to look at an investigational post-surgical incision care dressing used in scar healing. If you are thinking of having a tummy tuck (also called abdominoplasty), you may qualify for the clinical research study. The investigational dressing will be applied to one side of your abdominoplasty incision and the other side will be treated will be treated per the normal standard of care.

To Qualify You Must

To qualify you must:

be a man or woman between the ages of 18 and 65
be willing to participate in the study to evaluate a new dressing 1 week after a tummy tuck procedure
not have any known reactions to medical tapes or adhesives
not have a history of collagen vascular disease, cutis laxica, connective tissue disease, psoriasis, or lupus
not be diagnosed with scleroderma
not have a BMI > 30
not have had weight loss of >100 lbs. within six months of the tummy tuck procedure
not a current smoker
not be taking steroid therapy within 2 months from the date of study enrollment

Study Participation Involves

Study participation involves:

study-related procedures and investigational dressing at no charge
weekly office visits (lasting approximately 20 minutes) for up to 12 weeks post surgery with application of a new dressing at each visit
photographic record taken of the incision at several visits
follow-up visits and photographic record at six and 12 months post surgery

Enrolled participants will be compensated for their time and travel at the completion of the study. To learn more about this study give us a call at (925) 943-6353.

This is an IRB controlled study. More information about this clinical trail is also available here.

Expert Cosmetic Plastic Surgery by Board Certified Plastic Surgeon, Joseph A. Mele, MD, in the San Francisco East Bay Area city of Walnut Creek, serving Northern California including: Pleasant Hill, Lafayette, Alamo, Moraga, Orinda, Concord, Danville, San Ramon, Pittsburg, Antioch, Brentwood, Oakland, the greater San Francisco Bay Area and beyond.