Anyone that’s had a child (one or multiple) is familiar with the upper abdominal bulge after pregnancy. This may resolve a few months after pregnancy or it may remain. That bulge is due to three things and therefore, requires three procedures done at the same time to address all of them.
Abdominal bulge after pregnancy
The upper abdominal bulge, shown above, that occurs after pregnancy is very typical. It’s a combination of fat, excess skin and a stretched-out abdominal wall (aka rectus diastasis). Exercise alone won’t fix all three of these. Liposuction alone won’t either. But a combination of procedures is just what the doctor ordered!
During a tummy tuck, your surgeon makes an incision below your panty line. So even though it’s a long incision, it can be hidden by underwear or bikini bottoms. After the incision is made, your surgeon will perform liposuction to the abdomen and flanks but also to the upper abdomen if there is excess fat there.
However that bulge is also due to excess skin that hasn’t tightened or recoiled after the pregnancy and due to a rectus diastasis. A rectus diastasis is not the same thing as a hernia. It’s when the six pack muscles and the tough tissue (fascia) that wraps around them, separate. This leaves a weakened abdominal wall that bulges out in the middle of the abdomen.
To bring the six pack muscles back together in the middle where they should be, requires a rectus plication. This is the use of stitches, like a corset, to bring the muscles back together and remove the bulge. Working out in the gym may strengthen your six pack muscles but it won’t remove the bulge. That’s why you need a 1) tummy tuck with 2) liposuction and a 3) rectus plication to remove excess fat, skin and flatten the abdominal wall to finally get rid of that bulge after pregnancy.
To check pricing on a tummy tuck from Dr. Kaplan, click here.
Click here for the original blog post written by Dr. Kaplan for BuildMyBod.
