A comprehensive consultation process will lay a solid foundation for the tummy tuck body contouring surgery. It will provide an opportunity to the patient to learn about the essential aspects of the tummy tuck procedure as well as the surgeon’s practice. They can ask questions directly to the surgeon and clear all their doubts and concerns during the consultation.

The surgeon will acquire patient’s feedback about their health and cosmetic goals, and use those inputs to create a customized tummy tuck surgery plan. The consultation will ideally be scheduled sufficiently ahead of the actual surgery so that the patient gets the required time to prepare for it.

Experienced cosmetic surgeon Dr. Landon McLain provides tummy tuck and various other innovative and advanced cosmetic procedures. Dr. McLain will carefully determine the patient’s candidacy during the consultation and prepare a customized surgical plan. He provides tummy tuck to patients in Huntsville, Madison, Florence, Decatur, Scottsboro, Cullman, Athens, Alabama, and surrounding communities and cities in the Yellowhammer State.  

 

Health Assessment

Evaluating the candidate’s medical condition is a vital part of the pre-op consultation process. Tummy tuck is a major surgery, and the patient should be in a position to safely go through anesthesia and the surgical process. The surgeon will review the patient’s medical records as well as examine their general health. In some cases, a few medical tests may be ordered to determine candidacy.

 

Information Disclosure  

During the consultation, the patient will be required to disclose full information regarding any underlying health issues as well as any specific lifestyle habits such as smoking, drinking or drugs. To save time, the patient should prepare a list of all the prescription and non-prescription medications that they may be currently taking, and carry the list to the surgeon’s office for the consultation.

 

Anatomical Evaluation

The surgeon will examine the abdominal anatomy of the patient during the consultation, and assess their skin type, thickness of the skin and tissue laxity, including the position of the underlying abdominal muscles. Some patients may need liposuction of the abdomen along with tummy tuck for more effective results. On the other hand, some other patients may only require a partial abdominoplasty.

 

Customized Surgery Plan

Based on the patient’s health condition and their anatomical and personal cosmetic needs, the surgeon will create a tummy tuck plan that is tailored to meet those needs. They will determine the type of surgical technique, the location and size of incisions, and the degree of correction required. Therefore, a detailed consultation process allows the surgeon to create a surgical plan that can produce targeted outcomes in a least invasive manner.

 

Other Key Tasks

The surgeon may perform a few more key tasks at the time of initial consultation, which could include taking pictures of the patient’s current abdominal appearance, apprising the patient about alternative treatment options and costs, sharing tummy tuck before and after images of other patients, and providing detailed instructions about preparation and recovery.

Hard working and the wonderful surgeon that is Dr. McLain receives patients from Huntsville, Madison, Florence, Decatur, Scottsboro, Cullman, Athens, Alabama, and nearby areas for tummy tuck surgery.    

McLain Surgical Arts is a leading cosmetic surgery practice headed by Dr. Landon D. McLain MD, DMD, FACS in Huntsville, AL. Dr. McLain is a double board certified cosmetic and oral & maxillofacial surgeon, offering a variety of procedures such as dental implants, wisdom teeth extraction, breast augmentation, liposuction, rhinoplasty, tummy tuck, facelift, Botox, and laser skin resurfacing. For more information or to schedule a consultation call 256.429.3411 or click here.

Now taking patients from Huntsville, Scottsboro, Decatur, Madison, Athens, Florence, Cullman, AL and surrounding areas.

Innovations in surgical techniques over the years have made a body contouring procedure such as tummy tuck less invasive and less risky. However, some of the risks that are typically associated with any surgery are also integral to tummy tuck surgery. Therefore, it is vitally important for a candidate to know about the potential risks in order to make an informed decision.  

A committed surgeon will take care to educate the patient about all aspects of tummy tuck surgery, including the potential risks and side effects. The patient should weigh the risks against the expected benefits and then make a judicious choice.

Profound and reliable cosmetic surgeon Dr. Landon McLain provides tummy tuck and various other procedures to patients in Huntsville, Madison, Florence, Decatur, Scottsboro, Cullman, Athens, Alabama, and surrounding communities.

 

Potential Complications

Adverse Anesthesia Reaction

A major surgery such as tummy tuck will normally be performed using general anesthesia. To minimize anesthesia related risks, the anesthesia team will assess the patient’s medical records and determine their fitness for anesthesia.

A few patients may still have a poor response to anesthesia. General anesthesia will be performed by anesthesiologist or a nurse anesthetist who will remain present throughout the surgery to anticipate a reaction quickly and take corrective measures.

 

Blood Clot Formation

Some patients may have an existing tendency of clot formation, but even those without a history of clotting, may form a clot inside a blood vessel during the surgery. This can obstruct the blood flow, and in rare situations, the clot may travel to the brain, lungs or heart. This severe condition is known as Deep Vein Thrombosis.

 

Infection

The surgeon will choose an operating facility where completely sterile conditions for surgery are assured. This will mitigate the infection risks during the procedure. On their part, the patient should diligently adhere to the surgeon’s post-op recovery instructions to minimize infection risk. They should avoid exposure of incision sites to contamination and not submerge the site in water until the surgeon has allowed.

 

Slow Healing

Following tummy tuck surgery, the bruising and pain will usually resolve completely in four to six weeks, even though swelling will linger on for a longer time. However, for some patients, the overall healing process may be delayed, especially in cases where a full traditional tummy tuck has been performed, including muscle tightening.

Smokers have a higher risk of poor healing, and should avoid smoking for a specified time period before and after the surgery as advised by the surgeon.

 

Unfavorable Scarring

Although some degree of scarring is unavoidable in a tummy tuck surgery, but in a few cases, the scars may be more apparent due to a variety of factors. Dr. McLain receives patients from Huntsville, Madison, Florence, Decatur, Scottsboro, Cullman, Athens, Alabama, and other communities and cities in this part of the American southeast for tummy tuck surgery.

 

Safety Information

The complication rate in tummy tuck surgery is under five percent, according to an ASPS survey report. Infection risks are most common in this surgery, while rare complications include hypoxia, fluid accumulation, hypotension, and pulmonary dysfunction.

McLain Surgical Arts is a leading cosmetic surgery practice headed by Dr. Landon D. McLain MD, DMD, FACS in Huntsville, AL. Dr. McLain is a double board certified cosmetic and oral & maxillofacial surgeon, offering a variety of procedures such as dental implants, wisdom teeth extraction, breast augmentation, liposuction, rhinoplasty, tummy tuck, facelift, Botox, and laser skin resurfacing. For more information or to schedule a consultation call 256.429.3411 or click here.

Now taking patients from Huntsville, Scottsboro, Decatur, Madison, Athens, Florence, Cullman, AL and surrounding areas.

Abdominoplasty, commonly known as tummy tuck, is one of the popular body contouring cosmetic surgery procedures today. As a major surgery, tummy tuck will involve a number of steps, which may sometimes vary according to the type of surgical technique selected to perform the procedure. During the pre-op consultation, the surgeon will discuss the steps with the patient.

Patients who have clear insights about how the tummy tuck surgery will be performed will often have better confidence levels and will make correct decisions about the surgery. It helps to mitigate the pre-surgery anxiety once a patient is aware about the steps involved in the procedure.

Fantastic and sagacious cosmetic surgeon Dr. Landon McLain provides tummy tuck to patients in Huntsville, Madison, Florence, Decatur, Scottsboro, Cullman, Athens, Alabama, and surrounding communities.

 

Incision Placement

Once the patient has been placed under anesthesia inside the surgery room, the first step will be to place the incisions in pre-decided locations in the abdominal region. The surgeon will keep the incisions as discreet as possible, but their length and number may vary according to the extent of surgery required. A circumferential tummy tuck will require an incision around the waist line, including the back, while a mini tummy tuck may only require a small incision under the navel.

 

Repositioning the Navel

Repositioning of the belly button may be a part of a traditional tummy tuck surgery. Once the surgeon has lifted and tightened the abdominal area, it may be necessary to raise the navel to a new, youthful position to make it look natural.

Either the original navel will be detached from its place and repositioned, or in a few cases, a new navel may be sculpted, while the older remains unchanged. Only a skilled surgeon should perform the sculpting of the new navel to make it appear natural.

 

Tightening of Abdominal Muscles

If the muscles in the abdomen have loosened due to aging or pregnancy, this additional step will be included in the tummy tuck procedure. The surgeon will separate the skin from the abdominal walls through the incisions. They will pull the sagging muscles closer together and suture them into a new position to create a better toned abdomen. Tightening of the abdominal muscles will make the waistline look narrower.

 

Removing Excess Skin

After the abdominal muscle tightening is completed, the surgeon will pull the skin downward to make it taut. Loose skin will be then trimmed away. The surgeon may perform abdominal liposuction in a few cases at this stage to eliminate stubborn fat tissue before the skin is pulled tight. Dr. McLain receives patients from Huntsville, Madison, Florence, Decatur, Scottsboro, Cullman, Athens, Alabama, and other cities and communities in this part of The Yellowhammer State for tummy tuck surgery.

 

Closing the Incisions

Although tummy tuck is not designed to remove stretch marks, but some improvement may be achieved with traditional tummy tuck surgery. Once the procedure is over, the surgeon will close the incisions with sutures. Temporary drain tubes will be placed beneath the skin in the incision sites. The area will be initially wrapped in bandages, and later replaced with a compression garment.

McLain Surgical Arts is a leading cosmetic surgery practice headed by Dr. Landon D. McLain MD, DMD, FACS in Huntsville, AL. Dr. McLain is a double board certified cosmetic and oral & maxillofacial surgeon, offering a variety of procedures such as dental implants, wisdom teeth extraction, breast augmentation, liposuction, rhinoplasty, tummy tuck, facelift, Botox, and laser skin resurfacing. For more information or to schedule a consultation call 256.429.3411 or click here.

Now taking patients from Huntsville, Scottsboro, Decatur, Madison, Athens, Florence, Cullman, AL and surrounding areas.