San Jose Tummy Tuck doctors

Thank you for your question and photo.

In theory, it would be a very good idea to remove the stretch marks from your lovehandles.  However,  what you must realize is that you are your trading stretch marks for a surgical scar.  Also you will probably not be able to remove as much skin from your love handle region  as you will in the abdominal area.  This may leave you with a number of stretch marks in the flank area despite the extended abdominoplasty.   I would suggest that you seek consultation with a board certified plastic surgeon to discuss these issues as well as costs. Best of luck. 

Mini Abdominoplasty:

Mini tummy tucks are recommended if only a small lower abdominal skin excess is present. A mini tummy tuck has a quicker recovery. After a mini tummy tuck procedure, moderate discomfort can be treated with oral pain medication. Patients can usually return to work a week after surgery.

Standard Abdominoplasty:

After standard abdominoplasty patients should take care in movement for the first week, walking in a somewhat forward flexed position at the waist. Pain is handled with ibuprofen and a narcotic pain pill as needed.  Patients can expect more freedom of movement during the second week. Most are able to drive and move about fairly normally in 8-10 days, and should anticipate ten to fourteen days off work. No aerobic exercise is permitted for six to eight weeks. Additionally, home assistance is required for two full days. Home help should be available twenty-four hours a day for the first three days, and some patients may prefer a professional aftercare facility instead of home recovery. A pain pump which administers a small amount of long-acting anesthetic continuously for three days under the skin of the abdomen can be very helpful. The majority of my patients choose to stay at home after their procedure, and the pain pump helps make this more comfortable.

Extensive Abdominoplasty:

An extensive abdominoplasty usually requires the patient to take two weeks off work and social activities. Home help will be needed for the first 2-4 days, and it is often best to stay in an aftercare facility for the first 1-2 days. An extensive abdominoplasty would be a patient who had significant liposuction of the waist, flank area, and started with a relatively larger amount of fat and skin. When abdominoplasty is combined with breast surgery, such as augmentations or lifts, an overnight stay might be recommended as well.

Endoscopic Abdominoplasty - this is an operation done through a minimal incision hidden in the pubic hair that is designed to tighten lower abdominal bulging without removing any skin. It may be combined with liposuction. The recovery is the same as a mini tummy tuck.

I will see my patients 3-5 days after the surgery. We keep in touch by phone during that time to monitor their recovery. If a drain has been used, it is usually removed between 3 and 6 days after the procedure. It is possible to remove drains this early because I use special Quill quilting sutures to close off the space that has been created in elevating the flaps. The quilting sutures prevent accumulation of fluid that could lead to a persistent collection called a seroma. Before the use of quilting sutures it was necessary to leave the drains in for up to two weeks.

Patients are then seen weekly, and the belly button sutures removed around two weeks. Since the knots are tied on the inside of the belly button, and they attach to the abdominal side underneath the skin, there are never any visible stitch marks.  Most patients return to normal activity and work, depending of course on what they do, between seven and twelve days after surgery.  Although I have had patients run on a treadmill against doctor's orders at two weeks, I recommend that they avoid strenuous activity for six weeks, giving all the internal repairs time to heal properly.

The feeling of tightness that goes along with a nice tummy tuck gradually relaxes during the first month, and most patients are standing up, stretching and comfortable by the time of their second or third post-operative week.

Studies show that swelling starts to go down between three and six months, so you have to be patient. The lower abdominal swelling is what is most noticeable, and the incision line is the last area to soften and flatten between three and six months.  Studies have also shown that there can be some increase in swelling between six and twelve months, and after that it returns to its final healed state.