I am about 4 months out from an extended tummy tuck with NO liposuction at all. I exercise 6 days/week and follow a rigorous diet. I was hoping to compete in a female bodybuilding contest, however my new shape seems oddly proportioned. My flanks and lower back above my incision seem puffy. That area is usually where I store fat, however I am at my lowest weight ever, and still looking puffy. Did extra fat cells grow there?? or could I still be swollen at four months post op?
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January 26, 2013
Answer: Puffiness in flanks and lower back 4 months after tummy tuck
Strategies:
Careful incision planning. Sometimes it is possible to avoid incision around the navel, albeit with some compromises.
All the tension of the closure in the fascia, not the skin
Use relatively faster dissolving sutures--Monocryl rather than Maxon in the dermis...
Thank you for your question and congratulations on your circumferential tummy tuck. At 6 months, I would suspect that results that you are now seeing would be permanent and I wouldn't expect any further changes. When the belly is thinned, there is sometimes minimal remaining fat around the belly...
