The Little Known Health Benefits of a Tummy Tuck

According to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, the fifth most popular cosmetic procedure in the United States is the tummy tuck. The tummy tuck, or abdominoplasty, is a popular procedure because it can help with a wide range of fairly common insecurities people have with their abdomens: skin laxity from weight changes, excess fat, and weak or separated muscles from carrying children, to name a few. Many patients who come to Beverly Hills Plastic Surgery for their consultations are familiar with the cosmetic benefits of a tummy tuck, but many are surprised when we tell them there are also some significant health benefits of this procedure.

If you’d like to discuss your tummy tuck with our plastic surgeons and a team of cosmetic surgery experts, please use our website to send us a message or call our practice at (310) 746-5475 to schedule your consultation. In this post, we’re only sharing a handful of the health benefits of a tummy tuck, but we love helping our patients understand how a tummy tuck can help them look and feel great while also improving their quality of life.

How a Tummy Tuck Can Be Good for Moms after Giving Birth

At Beverly Hills Plastic Surgery, we specialize in a treatment plan specifically for women who are done having children called the mommy makeover. A core part of this cosmetic surgery is a tummy tuck. In addition to helping moms look great and regain their confidence after the hard work of carrying children and the excruciating demands on their bodies during labor and childbirth, the tummy tuck part of the mommy makeover is also to help their bodies heal and regain function.

When a woman gives birth vaginally, it can cause a condition called stress urinary incontinence, often called SUI, which happens when muscles that surround your bladder are damaged and stretched out. During a tummy tuck, your plastic surgeon can help with this condition by altering soft tissue to obstruct the bladder. Most women who have this done during a tummy tuck don’t experience SUI afterward.

In addition to helping with SUI, an abdominoplasty can sometimes help moms who experience back pain after having children. For moms, a tummy tuck can not only help restore some of your body’s functions pre-childbirth, but it can also benefit your health by improving your body’s form.  A study published in 2018 followed the tummy tuck procedures and results of 214 women in Australia. It found that only 10 percent of them reported having back pain six weeks after the surgery, which was a 40 percent reduction from those who reported back pain before their tummy tuck.

After carrying children, your abdominal muscles will initially be distended and weak. A damaged core and more body weight are a recipe for disaster. Through gravity, your excess belly fat beings to pull your back inward, which is a major cause of chronic lower back pain. A tummy tuck can work to correct your posture and help your body’s core better support your spine.

Use Your Tummy Tuck to Start or Maintain a Healthy Lifestyle

Many of our patients at Beverly Hills Plastic Surgery choose to have a tummy tuck because they’re frustrated that they can’t seem to lose that last little pocket of belly fat. Many people exercise and diet almost to unhealthy extremes before realizing that sometimes genetics can be more powerful than their willpower and self-discipline. Although it should never be considered surgery for weight loss, a tummy tuck can help those who are close to their ideal weight finally achieve that perfectly contoured stomach they’ve worked their butts off for.

Many people also get tummy tucks to help with loose skin after losing a significant amount of weight, and science says a tummy tuck might help them keep the weight off. According to a study published in Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, many tummy tuck patients who had lost a lot of weight through bariatric surgery were more likely to keep their weight off if they combined it with a tummy tuck procedure. A tummy tuck can be a mental commitment to start a new healthy lifestyle, or it can be something that helps you keep maintaining one.

Let’s Discuss the Health Benefits of Your Tummy Tuck!

If you’d like to learn more about how a tummy tuck could help boost your confidence, restore your body after a pregnancy or multiple pregnancies, or help you in your quest to look great and be healthy, please contact us.

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For more information on the surgical and non-surgical procedures and treatments by Cosmetic Plastic Surgeons Dr. David Kim and Dr. Eugene Kim.  Click here to contact us today.

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