What does "undermining" mean when referring to a tummy tuck?

Undermining means to erode the base or foundation. It also means to damage or weaken. This is true in surgery as well as in other things. When plastic surgeons undermine an area , we weaken or divide the connection between the skin and the body wall. It allows us to lift the skin and stretch it down. But the other part of the definition is also true. The more you divide and lift the skin, the more you divide the nerve and blood supply. If the nerve supply is out, you are numb. If the blood supply is out, the skin dies. So, where's the balance?Any thoughtful plastic surgeon will divide only that which has to be divided to get a good result. That's also why operating on smokers or those with other causes of poor circulation can be a really bad idea. That, by the way, was one of the big reasons that liposuction was often limited with abdominoplasty. The technique of lipo-abdominoplasty has shown us that it can all be done safely but with intentionally limited undermining.

Thank you for your question. Undermining refers to lifting the skin and fat layer off of the muscle layer so that the skin can be pulled down and tightened. Once the skin is lifted up and advanced down the excess lower skin can be removed. Undermining also allows the surgeon to see the muscle layer from the ribs down to the pubic bone so that the muscle layer can be tightened. Good luck.

What this means is the the skin and fatty tissue layer are elevated off of the abdominal wall so they can be pulled down to tighten the abdomen.