Botox muscles before tummy tuck/muscle repair?

Question

I will be going in for a scan of my abs soon to measure the separation. My doctor mentioned that if the muscles were too far apart they may use Botox before surgery to relax the muscles so they can be pulled together. Is this a common practice? How might it affect recovery? Is there an increased risk?

Tuan A. Tran, MD, MBA, FACS · Answer

When you go under general anesthesia, the rectus abdominis muscles will be relaxed and easily brought together.  I don’t think that you need extra Botox.  You may need a CT scan if your plastic surgeon is concerned about the extent of your hernia if you have one.  Otherwise, you may not need a CT scan.  Thank you and best wishes.

Leonard Grossman, MD · Answer

there is no need for a cat-scan to be performed to see how much muscle separation one has as this can be determined quite clearly during a good physical examination. In most women the separation is not very large or even non-existent despite the fact that they have looseness of the abdominal skin after pregnancy or weight loss. While under anesthesia you muscles are sufficiently relaxed for the repair to take place without any consequences. In my professional opinion as a plastic surgeon Botox is unnecessary but opinions may vary. Good luck from New York City

Botox muscles before tummy tuck/muscle repair?

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Botox muscles before tummy tuck/muscle repair?

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Everything you need to know about Botox

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