Tummy Tuck is a procedure to recontour the abdominal area. Excess skin and fat from the abdomen is removed, abdominal muscles are tightened and the contour of the abdomen is improved.
However, not all patients will benefit equally from this procedure. The ideal patient will have none to very mild abdominal bulge, and will have notable amount of excess skin. If you can actually hold the excess skin/fat in your hands then you will have a great result. On the other hand, if your abdomen is protruding and feels firm, you may have minimal improvement after a tummy tuck. In patients with large firm tummies, I recommend weight loss. I refer patients to bariatric doctors, who can guide these patients through diet and/or bariatric surgery to loose weight. The reason for this is that if the abdomen is protruding and firm, then the majority of the fat is inside the abdomen. The abdominal cavity, which contains the stomach, the liver, the colon and intestines, is filled with fat and this fat can not be removed through cosmetic surgery.

For weight loss, rather than body contouring, The Surgical Weight Loss Clinic in Toronto is the ideal place to visit prior to a tummy tuck to address intra-abdominal fat.

More information on tummy tuck surgery can be found on our Toronto Cosmetic Surgery website

Martin Jugenburg,MD, FRCSC
(www.plastica.ca)
Toronto, ON