These days, women who have undergone pregnancies commonly request sculpting of their bodies. They always remember how they used to look before their pregnancies and they would really like to go back to that stage. A full abdominoplasty combined with liposculpture of the abdomen and back will remove the excess fat and skin that women accumulate during pregnancy, and will restore the initial figure as much as possible. The case we are presenting is a 35-year-old woman who consulted for the above-mentioned procedure after she had 2 children. It is best for patients to undergo the surgery once they are sure they are not going to have any more pregnancies. Even though having the surgery will not preclude future pregnancy, it is not recommended because during the pregnancy the skin will stretch again, necessitating another abdominoplasty afterwards. In our practice, we are safely equipped to perform the combined procedure. At the start of the procedure, the patient is on her stomach (back up), and the procedure begins with liposculpture of the back, which includes the lower back area, flanks and back rolls, after which the patient is turned supine (tummy up) on the operating table, with a full abdominoplasty and additional liposculpture of the flanks and abdomen. The scar will be placed in such a fashion that it will be easily covered by the patient’s usual underwear and bathing suits. Over time, in most patients the scar fades away and becomes inconspicuous. It is very important to perform proper reconstruction of the navel.
The navel should have a rounded or slightly elliptical shape, and it is important to locate it in the center of the abdomen. The size of the navel is also crucial, because if the navel is too large, it actually compromises the aesthetic results of the surgery, and it is very difficult to reduce its size afterwards. Adding some fat to the buttocks will also help with the patient’s silhouette. When the procedure is safely done, the patient can return to work most likely in no more than 2 weeks. This is a procedure that has a high patient satisfaction rating related to the results when it is properly performed. We recommend this to all patients who have completed their family planning and want to look the way they did before they started their families.
