Am I a Candidate for a Tummy Tuck?

Men and women often come to us at Midsota Plastic Surgery with questions as to whether or not they are a good candidate for a tummy tuck—and it’s a good question to ask! As with any cosmetic surgical procedure, you must first know and understand if you are a good candidate.

You Have Loose Skin

A tummy tuck is an excellent method for shaping the stomach and creating a flatter, more sculpted appearance — especially if you have excessive loose, hanging, or sagging skin. Men and women with poor skin elasticity are excellent candidates for a tummy tuck.

Your Stomach Muscles Have Stretched

Tummy tuck surgery can also target and tighten the underlying stomach muscles that make up the abdominal wall. Unfortunately, stomach muscles that have become weakened, separated, or stretched due to pregnancy (known as diastasis recti) or other factors cannot retighten themselves and surgery is the best and only option. Tightening the muscles along the midline of the abdomen can help to further flatten the appearance of your stomach.

You Are Finished Having Kids

Our team of plastic surgeons recommends that you wait to have a tummy tuck until you are finished having children. Pregnancy, and the resulting stretching of the stomach, can compromise the results of your tummy tuck.

You Are Close to Your Goal Weight

We are careful to remind each of our Minnesota patients that tummy tuck surgery is not a weight loss method. Thus, the best candidates for a tummy tuck are at a healthy weight and within 10% of their goal weight. When considering a tummy tuck, you should make sure that you are committed to maintaining a healthy lifestyle in the long run as it is important that your weight remains stable. Weight fluctuation compromises and dramatically alters the results of your tummy tuck—weight gain can stretch the skin back out and weight loss can cause the skin to sag once again.

Your Schedule Allows You Enough Time to Rest and Recover

Few things are more important to the success of your tummy tuck than a healthy and adequate recovery period. You should plan on taking-off between 10 and 14 days following your tummy tuck. During this time, you will need to be able to take it easy and let your body recover.

Your Tummy Tuck at Midsota Plastic Surgeons

The best candidates for a tummy tuck have realistic expectations regarding their procedure, the recovery, and their results.

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