Mini - Tummy Tuck Pensacola, FL
If you just have a “belly pooch” that you like to eliminate, then a mini-tummy tuck might be for you. A mini-tummy tuck is the ideal procedure for patients that have an excess of abdominal skin and fat below the belly button with along with some muscle weakness.
| Typical Timing/Age | 30-65 years old |
| Problem | Excess abdominal skin and subcutaneous fat below the belly button and/or abdominal wall muscle laxity. This is usually caused by pregnancy, weight fluctuations and aging. Excess abdominal skin above the belly button and/or more significant abdominal wall muscle laxity is more effectively addressed with a traditional abdominoplasty, not a mini-abdominoplasty. |
| Procedure | Through a horizontal incision on your lower abdomen excess skin and subcutaneous fat are removed. Also through this incision your abdominal wall muscles are sutured together to improve your abdominal contour. There are no sutures to remove, as they are all internal. The resultant scars are a horizontal scar across your lower abdomen. A mini-abdominoplasty leaves no scar around your belly button because only the tissues below the belly button are addressed. Depending on your abdomen, drains may or may not be used. |
| Goal | To improve lower abdominal contour. |
| Facility | Surgery Center or Hospital |
| Preparation | Patients should be at a stable weight and cannot be using any nicotine containing substances. |
| Anesthesia | General anesthesia |
| Recovery | |
| Hospital stay | A mini-abdominoplasty is out-patient surgery. A hospital stay is not required. |
| Positioning | After a mini-abdominoplasty you will need to keep your hips flexed at all times for 1-2 weeks to help minimize the tension on your skin incision. This means walking around a little hunched over and sleeping in a recliner or in bed with pillows under your back and under your knees. |
| Assistance | You will need someone to help take care of you after surgery as you will not be able to lift children, heavy items, etc. |
| Walking | You are encouraged to walk around as much as possible to help reduce the risk of DVT and thromboembolism. |
| Showering | After 48 hours you should remove your dressings and take a shower. |
| Exercise | 1 weeks for light exercise. 3 weeks for regular exercise. 6 weeks for abdominal exercises. |
| Sex | Wait 3 weeks because you don’t want to stress your incisions or increase your blood pressure during the early healing period. |
| Work | 1-2 weeks depending on your type of work |
| Swelling | Can persist for 3-6 months |
| Bruising | Usually subsides after 2-3 weeks |
| Risks & Complications | Hematoma, Seroma, Infection, Poor scarring, Dehiscence, Delayed wound healing, Skin necrosis, Asymmetry, Numbness, Thromboembolism, Contour irregularities, Need for revision, Complications related to anesthesia. |
| Performed by: | Dr. Leveque, Dr. Butler, Dr. Patterson |
