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Smooth Tuck is a procedure that I developed as necessity because people were coming to me asking for a tummy tuck. When the truth is they are slightly overweight and therefore, not an ideal candidate for a tummy tuck. Also I have a large group of patients that are working moms, they have small children at home, they want to improve the shape of their abdomen. But they can't afford the long recovery that's required of a tummy tuck.

So Smooth Tuck is a variation of the tummy tuck which is less invasive. The way the procedure is done is an incision is made, the same as the tummy tuck in the lower abdomen. The incision is kept low, so it's hidden beneath underwear or a bathing suit. And I perform very aggressive liposuction in the upper abdomen and sides of the abdomen. I tend to remove anywhere between two and three liters of fat. Once I remove all that fat, I then remove all the excess skin. What's nice about this procedure is unlike a tummy tuck, it doesn't tighten the abdominal muscles, and that allows for my patients to get back to normal activities much, much quicker.

My patients tend to return to work in 7 to 10 days as opposed to two to three weeks for a tummy tuck. And my patients are back in the gym unrestricted at two or three weeks as opposed to six or eight weeks that's required with a tummy tuck. The other advantage of the Smooth Tuck is because I'm not doing any muscle tightening, I'm able to preserve a lot of the blood supply to the abdominal wall. It's very technical, probably too technical for you, my patient, but what that means is I can perform very aggressive liposuction of the upper abdomen without fear that there's going to be any compromise of the blood supply or healing problems.

When I do a tummy tuck, I can't perform liposuction of the upper abdomen because the risk of complications is way too high. So the Smooth Tuck has been a really great procedure for me and for my patients. It's allowed for my working patients to get back to work and get back to their family much, much quicker. And it's also allowed people that are slightly overweight or not ideal tummy tuck candidates to have a procedure that can improve their abdomen. Before this procedure, it was very common for plastic surgeons to tell a patient, "I'd love to help you, but lose 25, 30 pounds and come back and see me. And then we'll talk about a tummy tuck." So that's why I'm really excited about the Smooth Tuck procedure.

Smooth Tuck Procedure

Doctor Matthew Schulman discusses the Smooth Tuck Procedure.