Usually requested for the purpose of removing stretch marks (abdominal striae) from previous pregnancies, Tummy tuck or Abdominoplasty is not simply excising the skin and fat from the level of just above the navel to about 5cm to 7cm above the pubic bone; then pulling down the skin above the navel and stitching it down to the wound edge above the pubic bone. There is more to it because the muscles in front of your belly, which were weakened by those pregnancies, are brought together in the middle and are stitched together to bring about a strong, flat abdominal wall (sort of an internal corsette). In the process, the waist is pulled towards the middle and gives you a curve at the flanks of your abdomen. If your skin appears thick and the effects of tummy tuck may not be very obvious, a liposuction procedure can be combined with the tummy tuck to sculpture your abdominal wall and give you a sexier definition at the level of the belly.
In some cases, abdominoplasty is part of a procedure called Belt Lipectomy, which is usually done in patients who have had massive weight loss and whose skin sags not only from the front but all around the waist like a deflated tire.
