There are a number of reasons that patient might consider a Tummy Tuck and a number of different procedures that can be used to produce the ideal result. The condition of the operational area, the amount of sagging in the abdominal wall and the amount of excessive skin. Dr Celikkaya will advise the patient of the best procedure or combinations of procedure required to produce the desired outcome.

The indication for a mini-abdominoplasty is basically excess lower abdominal skin with or without a lax lower abdominal wall. The upper abdomen is in good shape, no excess skin or lax wall. In these cases there is no reason to alter the upper abdomen and thus no need to get the umbilicus out of the way and therefore there is no need for an incision around the umbilicus. the recovery from this procedure is probably a little easier than a standard abdominoplasty because only the lower half of the abdomen is operated, as opposed to the entire abdomen. An easier recovery is not a reason to select this procedure. If you need a standard abdominoplasty if and you select a mini-abdominoplasty procedure, you will probably be very disappointed. However, if you do have a mini-abdominoplasty and you really need a standard abdominoplasty or later on with weight changes you develop the need for a standard abdominoplasty, the performance of a mini-abdominoplasty now will not burn any bridges for later. That is to say, if you have a mini-abdominoplasty now, you can convert to a standard abdominoplasty at any time later. There is a version of this procedure called “floating the umbilicus”. In this procedure, the umbilicus is left intact to the surrounding skin on the outside, but as the abdominal skin is lifted upwards off the abdominal wall, when the umbilicus is encountered, it is transected (cut) from its attachment down below on the abdominal wall. Now the umbilicus floats upward off the abdominal wall, remaining attached to the abdominal skin. While this does give easy exposure to the upper abdominal muscles, there is a trade-off. As the abdominal skin is pulled downwards to the pelvis, one cannot predict at what vertical position the umbilicus will now reside. In other words, the umbilicus can now lie way too low on the abdominal wall and that does not look good!

The following guidelines apply for all types of surgery Use of all blood thinners should be stopped (under guidance from Dr Celikkaya) Smoking should stop from the date of the operation until 10-14 days after the treatment. Any activities that will increase blood pressure should also be halted. In most cases you will be able to return home after an overnight stay in hospital for observation This surgery is performed under general anaesthetic It is possible to return to most day to day activities after 5 days of rest Upon completion of the surgery the patient will be fitted with a compression garment that they are expected to wear for the three weeks following the surgery. Light exercise (walking etc) is permitted shortly after surgery, but it is advised that the patient wait at least 6 weeks before undertaking any heavy or strenuous exercise Results are considered to be permanent, however, further pregnancies or excessive weight change will affect the permanent nature of the procedure If the belly button is removed during the process is will be replaced and look identical to the one removed The ideal time after giving birth to consider the tummy tuck procedure is 1 year Procedures can be combined under the guidance of Dr Celikkaya

As with all surgical procedures generally, patients must abstain from taking blood thinners, limit drinking alcohol and smoking as much as possible and ideally, stop altogether in the last couple of days preceding surgery.

After the abdominoplasty surgery, the patient comes to the hospital room dressed in a compression garment. We recommend this compression garment is used for three weeks. Light walks can commence immediately after surgery but it is wise to wait one and a half months before undertaking heavy exercise.

The belly-button is extracted from the skin without any change, so the shape stays the same, only a replacement is made

The tummy tuck operation is best undertaken after pregnancy if possible. There are no upper age limits in this surgery. It is possible to operate on people who are healthy and take good care of themselves, at any age.

If there is sagging in the skin, especially any excess under the tummy, the preferred size and location for the abdominoplasty scars is 4 cm on both sides, left and right of the caesarean scar line. This scar can usually be hidden behind bikini bottoms and turns into a thin, white line after the healing period.

There is no harm in getting pregnant one year after a tummy tuck surgery. If the person does not gain too much weight during pregnancy, the tummy will return to how it looked right after abdominoplasty.

During the tummy tuck operation, the abdomen is narrowed and an inner corset is built. Patients usually lose weight after the surgery, but in the case of weight gain, the abdomen area does not return to its shape before the operation in any way, but maintains its proportion.

The right time for a tummy tuck operation for those who have given birth is the end of the first year. At the end of this period, the patient can lose as much extra weight as she can and the degree of sagging and stretchmarks settle. Ideally any weightloss should reach completion before the tuck since they are performed to correct the end results of a weight loss program. Best results are achieved if the patient has reached their ideal weight.

Yes. For the right patient and with the correct planning, a tummy tuck and liposuction can be carried out simultaneously.