REGAINING A FLATTER TUMMY

A mother of 3 young children saw me this week as she has been considering abdominoplasty for some time. She spends countless hours in the gym but is frustrated because no matter how hard she works, she still has a lower abdominal bulge and a belly button that pokes out (umbilical hernia).

When I examined her, it was clear she has looked after herself well. She has minimal fat and minimal loose skin. However, the midline gap in her abdominal muscles (what surgeons call rectus divarication) is substantial. In fact, I could put my whole hand between the two edges of her muscle.

No wonder she struggles. No matter how hard she works in the gym, the split muscle will never come back together. It can only be repaired surgically as part of a tummy tuck. Repairing the muscle is the only thing that will give her a flatter tummy.

You may be interested in how this is done surgically. You can see for yourself by clicking on this link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Sjl5H9iCk8&feature=share.

The video is graphic but shows a real patient undergoing repair of her rectus muscle and at the same time having progressive tension sutures which minimizes the risk of fluid collection (seroma) and dramatically reduces post-operative pain. Progressive tension sutures are one of the reasons we can now do a tummy tuck as a day procedure.