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!

Step 1 The blue ellipse indicates the proposed amount of skin to be removed. The lower solid blue line is where the initial incision is made. The dotted blue line is the proposed upper portion of the skin excision (removal). This can vary upwards or downwards depending upon how much skin excess exists. In this procedure, there is no incision made around the umbilicus. The umbilicus remains attached to the underlying abdominal muscles as well as to the remaining abdominal skin. There will not be a circular hole in the skin flap. The yellow area shows the extent to which the abdominal skin is elevated off the abdominal wall. Step 2 The abdominal skin is elevated off the abdominal wall, the abdominal musculature is revealed. The skin is elevated to just below the umbilicus in the midline, a little higher to either side of the umbilicus so as to maintain the attachment of the umbilicus to the abdominal wall. Step 3 The abdominal wall musculature is tightened using a special running suture. The muscles are brought together in the midline. Step 4 The completed repair of the abdominal musculature is shown. Step 5 The excess skin is elevated above the abdominal wall and pulled downward. The area of resection (removal) is indicated with a dotted line. There is no hole in the abdominal skin flap because there was no incision made around the umbilicus. Step 6 The final result is shown with the location of the scar across the waist crease of the abdomen. There is no scar around the umbilicus. The mini abdominoplasty is performed when both the skin and abdominal muscles have lost their elasticity and become flaccid. This procedure is performed under general anaesthetic and the method used ensures that no pain is felt.

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 mini 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 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.