Dr. Koumanis performs tummy tucks for patients from all over the Capital District and state of New York. He especially sees patients from Queensbury, Glens Falls and Saratoga Springs, NY and surrounding areas.
This is a case of a 47-year-old with lipodystrophy of the abdomen and the flanks. She had excess tissue and fat in both areas. Working out and exercise did not help the status of her abdomen. As you can see from the preoperative before pictures, a significant amount of tissue was concentrated around her umbilicus or belly button; in the central rea of her belly.
I performed a full abdominoplasty or tummy tuck including plication or tightening of the rectus abdominus muscles. For a tummy tuck to look good I have learned a few things over the years. The key to a good tummy tuck is:
- the appropriate amount of abdominal skin and fat tissue apron to be cut so that you can pull the abdominal tissue down like a window shade. Too much though causes too much tension and spreading of the incision. Too little and you won’t get a sculpted fresh look.
- excising Scarpa’s fat is essential in achieving a sculpted look. Scarpa’s fat is the deepest fat just above the muscle layer. Some surgeons will liposuction this area, but I choose to directly excise it with a scalpel like an apron as I find it gives a better result.
- the belly button should look like an inward one. This requires plication of the umbilicus to the muscle fascia. This will allow the skin to dive inward and produce a sculpted belly button that is centered and attractive.
As you can see comparing before and after pictures, a significant improvement occurred. The umbilicus looks natural and the patient’s tummy tuck looks sculpted.
