Hi there - what is the situation with the muscle tightening aspect of abdominoplasty and why do WLS patients typically require this (I understand why they'd have loose skin of course)? When I tense my abdominal muscles they seem to be slightly convex or pushed outwards - why is this and is this something abdominoplasty would solve? Thanks!

the extra fat pushes the muscles out after awhile. You don't HAVE to get this done, but if you want a fairly (or very) flat stomach, then muscle tightening and lipo will usually get the job done...

My surgeon explained to me the that the muscle tightening portion of a tummy tuck is to basically sew the gap between the abdominal muscles together. See those six packs on super fit people? Im referring to that vertical line between the “packs”.

pregnancy and midsection weight gain push this gap apart resulting in outward bulging.

Sewing the gap together give a tighter, flatter look.

Definitely get the muscle repair!!!! I love my fake abs!! LOL!!!

2 hours ago, ChubRub said:

Definitely get the muscle repair!!!! I love my fake abs!! LOL!!!

And do you need the vertical scar for that, or just the lateral one? I wouldn't want the vertical one.

Just the lateral one unless you have a ton of skin above your belly button. I had muscle repair with my tummy tuck. I'm still quite swollen in the picture. My scar is high (planned) and I will be having scar revision to lower it.

Thank you! And why was the scar planned to be high and then lowered later on?

Edit: also, your belly button looks original? Was it not moved or reconstructed?

Edited March 22, 20224 yr by Guest

The belly button is new. I naturally have a high belly button and with the existing tattoo (what remains is the half that was above my "old" belly button), we (me and PS) decided to be "conservative" and go with a higher placed scar with scar revision(s) planned in the future. I didn't have enough skin to remove the tattoo completely so it was more important to me that the remaining portion not be totally distorted. My bikini wearing days are long gone so hiding the scar was not as important. It will be easy to remove more of the tattoo without distorting it and lower the scar an inch at a time. The scar revision is an office procedure done under local anesthesia so not a huge deal.

Thank you!