Fast facts

Tummy Tuck
Plastic Surgery

What it is: a surgical procedure to correct the apron of excess skin hanging over your abdomen.

What it addresses:

- excess or sagging abdominal skin

- an abdomen that protrudes and is out of proportion to the rest of your body

- abdominal muscles that have been separated and weakened

- excess fatty tissue that is concentrated in your abdomen

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Question

How long after a stomach surgery do you need to wait before having a tummy tuck?

I went to the ER for problems urinating and found a mass pushing on my ureters and bladder (fibroid) had removed and had to lose my uterus (hysterectomy). The doctor did a vertical incision belly button to pubic bone. He could not do the traditional horizontal bikini incision. And now that I am going to be home recovering from these how long should I wait to just get a tummy tuck. I had the surgery on Thursday June 19, 2008.. also a 45 min surgery ended up being almost 3 hours because the fibroid mass weighed more than 9 pounds...

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Asked by: finallyready30
auburn, wa

Answers (3)

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1
August 6, 2008
Richard P. Rand, MD
Richard P. Rand, MD
Board Certified
Plastic Surgeon

My own answer to that question would be at least 3 months to allow you to heal from the first surgery and properly prepare for the tummy tuck.  There is no absolutely right answer, but definately do not try to rush into this elective surgery because it might seem like convenient timing.

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2
July 30, 2008

Wait time between surgeries

Bahram Ghaderi, MD
Bahram Ghaderi, MD
Board Certified
Plastic Surgeon

The reason for waiting after your surgery is to not only allow your surgical area to heal but also for your body to recover from the stress of the first surgery before undergoing another one. Typically, 6 months to 1 year is the time period for adequate healing to take place.

Since a tummy tuck is an elective procedure, you can discuss with your board certified plastic surgeon what the ideal timing is for you after a comprehensive consultation and examination.

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3
July 19, 2008

Surgical waiting times

Steven Wallach, MD
Steven Wallach, MD
Board Certified
Plastic Surgeon

You should probably wait at least 6 months to a year for the tissues to heal and "go back to normal." This will allow the plastic surgeon to offer you the best he/she can.

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