Before the surgery:
You asked me whether it was possible to improve your stomach’s appearance, to allow yourself to wear a bikini without any problem.
This intervention is ideal for women having had children and having decided not to have any more. Indeed, a pregnancy soon after an abdominal plastia is not impossible but compromises the result of the operation because it involves a distension of the scar.
In the event of a recent pregnancy, it is necessary to wait six to nine months before any intervention. You will also have to loose the weight put on.
If you are really overweight, a preliminary diet will be necessary.
The surgery:
I explained to you that the principle of this operation consists of removing the excess of skin located in the lower part of the stomach, with a scar located at the edge of the pubis, more or less laterally extended according to the degree of the ablation of the skin. This intervention will solve various problems:
- it will remove the excess of skin,
- remove the possible scars and stretch marks located in the lower part of the stomach, under the navel,
- remove excess fat located between the navel and the pubis,
- bring closer together the abdominal muscles usually distended after pregnancies; this operation refines/gives a slimming effect to the waist and decreases the stomach’s profile.
I told you that the operation would be carried out under general anaesthesia; your stay in the clinic will be of three or four days.
After the surgery:
You must moderate your activity for fifteen days. Your waist will not immediately look slimmer, because the operation involves a certain swelling of the abdominal wall which takes several weeks to disappear.
Evolution:
We have already mentioned the problem of the scar. It will be hidden in a typical bathing suit, and you will have to be patient, because the scar continues to change for a long time. You will also have a scar inside the navel, which will attenuate very well.
It is a good operation which will solve several of your problems, and it is worth running the risk of a slightly visible scar, because its shape will improve a lot and you will feel better in a bikini, or in tight-fitting clothes.
However, frontal and lateral stretch marks cannot be removed. The regaining of tension in the skin will slightly attenuate the wrinkled aspect but that’s all. If your stretch marks are around the navel, and above, I explained to you that the possibilities of action are limited, and that we can only consider an operation to improve the situation but we won’t be able to remove your problem completely.
A combination of fat aspiration with an abdominal plastia, by lip aspiration, makes it possible to obtain a better aesthetic result, while extending further and spreading better the ablation of the possible surplus fat, without increasing the length of the scar.
In conclusion, I thus told you that an abdominal plastia is a useful intervention when it is justified by a damaged stomach, but you must be careful if you only have a small excess of skin and fat, because the scar can remain visible.
In this case, I would propose a liposuction, which will remove the excess fat and will allow the skin to better find its former shape. It will be necessary to wait several months before being able to judge the final result. If a sagging skin remains I can always remove it leaving a short scar located in the pubic hairs (abdominal minilift).
Which elements can be of concern following the surgery?
1. A localised swelling may be noticeable above the scar. It is frequent and related to an oedema (retention of water in tissues).
Wearing a girdle, massaging of the scar and in certain cases a lymphatic drainage will allow it to reduce. It generally disappears after 2 or 3 months.
2. A more diffuse swelling of the stomach can be noticeable towards the 8th/10th day after the intervention: it shouldn’t worry you but you should come back for a further consultation. It is the sign of a lymphatic flow. Generally painless, repeated punctures should make it come to end in a few days.
3. An insensitivity of the stomach, a kind of surface anaesthesia, is generally noticed. Linked to the separation of the skin during the operation, it will need several years to disappear completely.
4. The occurrence of a pain located in the calf,persistent and producing insomnia means you should consult me or your anaesthetist to eliminate phlebitis.
The result of the abdominal plastia will be all the better if you are motivated to supervise your weight (balanced food, diet) and to develop your abdominal strap (gymnastics to invigorate your abdominal muscles).
Dr Thierry BONVALLOT