Abdominoplasty refers to plastic surgery and ranks fifth among the most popular. Thanks to modern technologies, abdominoplasty is distinguished by its complexity in terms of technical characteristics. The difficulty lies in the fact that when working with skin, muscles and subcutaneous adipose tissue, plastic surgeons may encounter a divergence of the muscles of the anterior wall of the peritoneum or hernial protrusions that are localized in the abdominal cavity.
Abdominoplasty is a surgical intervention, the purpose of which is to remove excess skin and subcutaneous fat in the abdomen. During the operation, plastic surgeons tighten the muscles of the abdominal cavity. After this operation, the patient undergoes a rehabilitation period for a long time. If doctors are sure that the muscles and skin of the abdomen can be tightened with the help of proper nutrition and physical activity, then they try to dissuade the patient from this procedure.
Cons of abdominoplasty
The method has no significant disadvantages. The only drawback is that such surgery has a lot of contraindications.
Firstly, the operation is not prescribed for patients with acute infectious diseases, namely, herpes in the acute stage, colds and sexually transmitted diseases, tuberculosis, and so on. Secondly, patients with severe diseases of internal organs and cardiovascular pathologies are not allowed to operate.
Also, absolute contraindications are pathologies of the circulatory system (blood disease or abnormal clotting process), oncological processes, the period of pregnancy and breastfeeding, disorders of the mental system, in particular, an unstable psycho-emotional state, insufficient insulin levels in the blood, elevated blood pressure with frequent attacks of a hypertensive crisis, various disorders of the thyroid gland, the presence of scars from recent operations, a high probability of the formation of a hypertrophic and keloid scar. The operation is strictly prohibited for patients under 18 years of age.
Conditional contraindications are significant obesity. In this case, the patient must independently lose a few extra pounds, and then resort to the help of plastic surgeons.
Remember that sufficiently overweight can lead to the development of many complications, namely, a slow healing process, the formation of pus in the place where the incision was made. There may also be excessive formation of serous fluid at the sites of operations.
The main indications for the operation are:
- flabbiness of the skin in the abdomen;
- rapid aging of the skin around the navel;
- drooping fat folds of different sizes and volumes.
How to prepare for the operation?
First of all, the patient must personally consult with the doctor who will operate on him. It is very important that the plastic surgeon carefully examines all the needs and desires of his patient. When this does not happen, you have to redo the work, because the doctor may not do exactly what the patient would like.
Also, the doctor should carefully examine all the tests obtained before the operation, which can confirm the processes that prohibit abdominoplasty. It is very important that the therapist confirms that the patient is in good health and can undergo this plastic surgery. What tests should be done before abdominoplasty? The therapist directs the patient to:
- urine and blood tests;
- blood biochemistry;
- complex analysis of blood coagulation parameters;
- blood test for the presence of viral markers;
- electrocardiogram;
- X-ray examination of the chest;
- fluorography.
These are mandatory tests, but in each case, the therapist may prescribe an additional examination. If there are no contraindications to plastic surgery, then at the next stage the patient must consult with an anesthesiologist.
The date of the operation is appointed exclusively by the plastic surgeon. Until this time, it is worth giving up smoking and drinking alcoholic beverages, as well as taking medications that can thin the blood.
It is very important to follow the principles of proper nutrition. On the day of the operation, you can only have a light breakfast. Doctors are allowed to drink only water, and then in limited quantities.
How is an abdominoplasty performed?
The time of plastic correction of the abdomen takes two to four hours, and it is done only under general anesthesia. Therefore, consultation with an anesthesiologist before surgery is a prerequisite.
Abdominoplasty begins with marking. This is necessary in order to be able to finally determine how much unnecessary skin and adipose tissue. Thus, after the operation, the abdominal area will look beautiful and natural. The main thing is that all symmetry will be observed. The patient must be standing while marking. If you do this in a supine position, the fabric may move.
Now you can start cutting. Plastic surgeons make an incision in the pubic area and always along the hairline. If there are indications for a second incision, then it is made vertically or perpendicular to the first. The length of the dimensions may vary from the readings, but on average it is five centimeters. If the patient needs to significantly tighten the skin, then an additional incision is made around the navel.
After that, the plastic surgeon already proceeds to the main procedure. First, adipose tissue and skin must be carefully separated from the muscle walls, and if there are indications, then they should be sutured. The doctor also sutures the connective tissue aponeurosis, this is how you can create a flat stomach.
If during the operation the doctor noticed a hernia, then he sets it or fixes it from the inside. For this, a special medical mesh is applied. Then the doctor removes excess skin and fatty tissue. At the end of the procedure, the incisions are closed with special sutures or glue. The recovery period for each patient is different. It all depends on the complexity of the operation.