What is the Purpose of Placing a Patient in a Chair While Performing a Tummy Tuck Surgery?

Thank you for your question. We use surgery tables which can be folded up into a chair, and this is just to bend the patient a little to reduce the tension on the incision when closing the incision. I hope this helps.

Flexing the table at the time of abdominoplasty is a way of removing some tension and allowing slightly more skin and fat to be removed.

Most likely your surgeon was mentioned placing you in a seating position during the surgery.  When the surgery starts, you will be lying flat on the table.  However, after the skin is elevated, the operative table is transformed in a "beach chair" configuration" so you bend at the waist.  This allows the surgeon to pull your skin tighter and make your stomach even flatter.

 

Good Luck.

Your Surgeon was referring to the way we determine how much skin to remove.  The Operating table flexes at the hip level.  It is electrically powered so that when it comes time to excise skin, the table is flexed.  This allows more skin to be excised and closed without tension during surgery.  The abdominal skin will always relax over time.  That is why patients want as much skin and fat removed safely at the time of the tummy tuck.  The downside is that you will have to walk in a bent over position for a few days.  I have never had a patient say "Oh you made my tummy too tight"

and your surgeon was most likely referring to the position you are placed in to estimate what skin can be removed.  You can always ask your chosen surgeon what was meant by that remark and now that you know what most of us think, you can almost predict his answer.