What You Need to Know Beforehand
Surgical Techniques
The extent of any abdominoplasty procedure can be modified depending on your needs, ranging from skin resection only (mini tummy tuck) to the floating belly button technique (hybrid tummy tuck), up to a full abdominoplasty where the umbilicus is circumcised, and a new opening is cut into the pulled-down skin flap. This allows for reshaping and repositioning of the belly button. Furthermore, the pubic area can be reshaped and lifted in case of sagging and subcutaneous fat collection. All these techniques are mostly combined with a certain extent of liposuction to minimize skin undermining and to decrease postoperative seromas by preserving the lymphatic infrastructure.
Skin Resection Only - Mini Abdominoplasty / Dermolipectomy: Suitable for patients with small to moderate skin excess, it may be combined with liposculpture of the abdomen and waist.
Floating Belly Button Technique / Hybrid Abdominoplasty: The belly button is detached from the muscular fascia but not circumcised at skin level. It can be pulled downwards, allowing for more extended skin resection without creating distortion of the belly button and without a visible scar around the umbilicus. After being pulled down, the navel is reattached to the rectus muscle fascia. The amount of resected skin is determined by the remaining distance between the pubic area and the umbilicus. This operation is suitable for patients with moderate skin excess and a high riding belly button.
Full Abdominoplasty: A full abdominoplasty at OC Group is usually combined with liposuction to shape the entire trunk. The belly button is circumcised but stays attached to its pedicle and the muscular fascia. Through this technique, the largest amount of skin excess can be excised, and muscle diastases and/or hernia can be repaired at the same time.
Where are the Scars?
Our goal is to create as short and invisible scars as possible. The horizontal scar will be hidden by your underwear or beachwear and can be as short as twice the length of a caesarean scar. Its length, however, depends on the technique chosen and the extent of skin excess. A full abdominoplasty leads to an additional scar around the belly button. In this case, a special umbilicus insertion technique is applied to achieve the most hidden and unremarkable scar as possible. At the same time, the shape and size of the belly button are paramount for optimal aesthetic outcomes.
After Surgery and Beyond
Abdominoplasty Aftercare
The Ocean Clinic concept is dedicated to avoiding any unnecessary pain. We routinely perform a temporary local anesthesia block of relevant sensory nerves and the muscular abdominal fascia, considerably reducing pain in the early post-operative period. This allows us to develop a fast-track system that enables the patient to leave the clinic after 24 hours in most cases. With an additional combination of oral pain medication, you should be pain-free. Most of our sutures are absorbable; therefore, there is generally no need to remove stitches.
We will provide you with a special compression garment to be worn for about 4 to 6 weeks. Avoid lifting any objects beyond 8kg and avoid sports involving weights during this period.
Postoperative skin treatments and lymphatic drainage are recommended. Instructions regarding the correct scar care and suitable products to be applied will be provided, which are essential for optimal, barely visible scarring.
Abdominoplasty Related Risks
There are non-specific risks connected to any kind of surgical procedures, such as hematoma, infection, and seroma. Avoiding smoking for 3 weeks prior to surgery and 2-3 weeks post-surgery enhances the wound healing process. Wound healing impairments and partial wound dehiscence are very rare in non-smokers and can be mostly successfully treated by conservative measures. Necrosis of the umbilicus has been described in the literature to various degrees, particularly in massive weight loss patients; however, it is very unlikely in a normal, healthy patient.
Abdominoplasty Alternative Treatments
To reduce the girth of the abdomen, liposuction alone can lead to a satisfying aesthetic outcome in case of good skin quality and limited skin excess. However, in cases of moderate to severe sagging of the skin and soft tissues, liposuction alone will hardly result in a satisfactory result.
Ocean Clinic’s Experience in Abdominoplasty
On average, our surgeons at Ocean Clinic perform around 75 abdominoplasties per year. They have presented numerous congress participations on body-shaping, liposculpturing, and scar corrections and teach at international ISAPS teaching courses for tummy tuck techniques. Workshops are given by our surgeons for international peers on water-assisted liposuction. We offer exclusive interdisciplinary treatment programs for post-operative scarring and additional skin retraction. We enhance the aesthetic outcome by standardly performing simultaneous liposuction to surrounding areas, such as flanks, upper abdomen, and lateral thorax, in order to achieve synchronized contouring before conducting the abdominoplasty, as well as additional skin retraction. Special programs and consultations for massive weight loss and post-bariatric patients are available upon request.
