“Abdominoplasty,” or more commonly known as tummy tuck surgery, is one of the most sought-after plastic surgery procedures today. According to the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ASAPS), there were 144,929 tummy tucks performed in 2010, making it the fourth most common cosmetic surgery procedure of the year.

Tummy tuck surgery is especially popular amongst women following childbirth and those who have lost significant amounts of weight. The procedure tightens the abdominal muscles and removes excess fat and skin. Although a very popular procedure, a tummy tuck often requires post-surgical care to drain the fluids accumulated during the process.

However, a groundbreaking adhesive product to aid recovery from tummy tucks has been cleared for use in Europe and its use in the United States may not be far behind. Cohera Medical’s TissuGlu, a nontoxic and resorbable surgical adhesive, received CE Mark Approval this month. The approval bodes well for the future of TissuGlu elsewhere as Cohera Medical continues to actively pursue U.S. FDA approval.

TissuGlu benefits those undergoing large flap surgeries, such as a tummy tuck surgery, by forming internal bonds between tissue layers. TissuGlu works as an adhesive between tissue flaps and underlying tissues to reduce accumulating fluids during surgery. It promotes natural healing and allows patients’ drains to be removed faster, hastening their recovery time.

If you would like further information regarding Frisco tummy tuck surgery and your options with this body contouring procedure, you may wish to contact Dr. Natan Yaker. A qualified cosmetic plastic surgeon, Dr. Yaker can help you achieve a more slender midsection contour.

Women who experience pregnancy or massive weight loss tend to have stubborn fatty deposits in the abdominal region, as well as loose, excess skin. No matter how much they may exercise or diet, this area can be difficult to sculpt, which is why many turn to cosmetic plastic surgery. Tummy tuck surgery (“abdominoplasty”) can help patients regain a more slender midsection.

At the practice of Dr. David R. Luethcke, Westside Plastic Surgery in Houston, tummy tuck surgery is a commonly requested procedure. Typically, full abdominoplasty is performed through an incision made along the lower abdomen from hipbone to hipbone. Dr. Luethcke then separates the skin from the underlying muscles in order to tighten them for a flatter appearance. The skin is then pulled back down to remove the excess. In addition, a new opening for the belly button is made to provide a more youthful-looking abdomen. After the procedure, some swelling, bruising, and pain may be present but will fade as the weeks pass.

Patients may anticipate their final results about six to eight weeks after their procedure. Results can be long-lasting when a healthy lifestyle is adopted. Also, in order for the patient to maintain optimal results, it is best that she is done having kids before undergoing a tummy tuck.

Women who would like to achieve a better-contoured abdomen with tummy tuck surgery may contact Dr. Luethcke at his practice near Houston.

What is a “Mommy Makeover?” And, just why do so many women want to receive one?

Childbirth is a beautiful thing. But what isn’t always a lovely sight is the aftermath of this experience, in regards to a woman’s body. While most mothers would agree that bearing a baby is an indescribable feeling, many of these women also admit that they would love to get help bouncing back to their pre-pregnancy shapes.

A healthy diet and regular exercise are important factors in creating a more pleasing appearance, but this may not directly improve problem areas. Every woman’s post-pregnancy body is affected differently, which is due to each person’s distinct fat storage and excess fat regions. Yet with the help of a qualified plastic surgeon, such as Dr. Ronald M. Friedman, women are able to return to a shape they are proud of. This is why the Mommy Makeover has grown into such a popular route towards improvement – it provides women with greater self-confidence. The most popular Mommy Makeover procedures are: breast augmentation, breast lift surgery, liposuction, and tummy tuck surgery. While many patients feel comfortable undergoing multiple procedures during one operation, there are others who prefer to undergo one procedure at a time. In a recent news article on WebMD.com, several women were interviewed regarding their experience with undergoing a Mommy Makeover – most of the subjects agreed that their choice to undergo certain procedures was the right one.

Flower Mound and Plano Mommy Makeover surgeon Dr. Friedman is available for consultations. This visit may be the best time to learn if a series of body reshaping surgeries will meet your goals.

Maintaining a regular diet and exercise routine doesn’t seem to be helping many individuals lose the extra pounds – obesity is growing. In recent years, bariatric surgery has become increasingly popular; however, it is leaving patients with loose, sagging skin in various areas of the body after weight loss. Although the patient has reduced his/her size, the excess skin can become bothersome and is often surgically removed. The most common areas that carry excess skin are the arms, breasts, abdomen, hips, and thighs.

Typically, patients who experience massive weight loss in the midsection opt to undergo tummy tuck surgery. This procedure entails tightening the abdominal muscles and removing loose, excess skin. The patients are left with a flatter, better-contoured abdomen; however, because the incision runs from hipbone to hipbone, there may be a scar present post-surgery. Other procedures often combined with this surgery include arm lift surgery, breast lift surgery, thigh lift surgery, and liposuction. Although patients have lost a significant amount of weight, there may be stubborn pockets of fat that cannot be diminished through natural means. Based on the individual patient, the plastic surgeon can create a personalized surgical plan to achieve optimal results.

If you have undergone a massive weight loss procedure and are left with excess skin through the body, you may wish to contact Beverly Hills tummy tuck surgeon Dr. Renato P. Calabria. Further information is available on his website.

One of the latest procedures to aid in weight loss and weight control, Lap-Band ® by Orange County based Allergan, has seen great success in its patients. Many people who underwent this procedure lost up to half of their excess weight and have found a new outlook on life.

However, like most procedures of this kind, the Lap-Band surgery is marketed at those who are 18 years of age and older. Physicians may perform the surgery on patients who are younger, but according to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), they cannot advertise it to those younger than the age of 18. Now, Orange County based Allergan is petitioning to have the age limit changed to 14.

The reason for this is the growing rate of obesity in teenagers, which can be hazardous to their health and increase their chances of illnesses and diseases. According to a recent article, Allergan argues that teenagers who have undergone the procedure and lost significant amounts of weight have led a more enjoyable lifestyle. In order to gain approval from the FDA, the Lap-Band procedure is currently performing a study that is expected to run through 2012. At that point, the FDA will determine if this surgery can be targeted towards teenagers.

Based in Santa Ana, body contouring surgeon Michael A. Jazayeri, M.D. can be of great assistance to those who have undergone the weight loss procedure. Many of those who have lost a significant amount of weight are oftentimes left with loose, excess skin, requiring additional procedures like tummy tuck surgery and/or liposuction. The tummy tuck procedure trims hanging skin in the abdomen, while liposuction can remove stubborn fat deposits throughout the body.

Another story regarding patient safety and the importance of conducting extensive pre-surgical doctor screenings has come out, down under, in New Zealand.

New Zealand Health and Disability Commissioner Ron Paterson has asked their national Medical Council to review a surgeon’s competence after a female patient complained about the services he provided.

The surgeon, known in the commissioner’s report only as “Dr. B” is a general surgeon who had trained in cosmetic surgery and worked at an outpatient cosmetic surgery practice.

In March 2006, the patient had abdominoplasty surgery – a procedure to get rid of the large amount of excess skin on her lower abdomen that was leftover after a previous liposuction treatment.

A couple of months after the surgery the woman developed a hematoma in her lower abdomen and ended up needing more liposuction treatments to remove the excess fluid and then further surgery to eliminate the hematoma.

In a post-surgery consultation with the surgeon in February 2007, the patient expressed dissatisfaction with the results of the tummy tuck surgery to the doctor. The doctor replied, saying that the excess skin was normal and in no way due to hematomas.

Independent advisers to the commissioner discovered that the surgeon did not provide appropriate standards of care which could be expected of a doctor who was a general surgeon who practiced cosmetic surgery exclusively. The commissioner recommended the cosmetic surgeon be referred to the Medical Council for a competency review.

According to Patterson, once the surgeon’s competency review is complete, a copy of the commissioner’s report will be sent to the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons and be available on the Health and Disability Commissioner website.

As medically-supervised weight management grows and changes, so does plastic surgery. Nearly 125 years ago, we saw the advent of the Tummy Tuck, the original body contouring procedure. Some 75 years later, came Liposuction and since then, a whole new crop of body contouring surgeries, such as the panniculectomy, have come and gone.

Today, weight-loss patients and specialists have a new plastic surgery procedure to consider: the Bra-Line Backlift.

The Bra-Line Backlift was developed by Dr. Joseph Hunstad, with the intention of treating excess back skin following massive weight-loss surgeries like gastric bypass. Following massive weight-loss, fatty tissue is suctioned out, using some light liposuction but the Backlift essentially is an upside down tummy tuck, on your back.

Instead of a horizontal incision across the waistline with a tummy tuck, the doctor makes an incision across the upper-middle back (one of the few detractors for men, given the inability to hide the scar with a bra or bathing suit), tightens the muscles and removes excess accumulations of skin.

Dr. Richard D’Amico, president of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons says that he sees this as more of a “completion procedure”, than anything else. A procedure that might conclude a mommy makeover, for example, as opposed to a primary treatment option.

After laying low in Europe for the last 3 months, following the birth of her and husband, Brad Pitt‘s twins, Angelina Jolie and is back in the states, looking refreshed, healthy, well-toned and ready to promote her new movie, the Clint Eastwood film, Changeling.

Well-toned?! Yes, you read that right! Following the birth of the twins, Knox and Vivienne, the Hollywood star underwent exceptionally discrete tummy tuck surgery, durring her her self-imposed seclusion.

“Angelina looked drop-dead gorgeous in a tight black strapless Versace dress,” said a surprised eyewitness who saw the actress in attendance for the film’s premiere at New York City‘s Ziegfeld Theatre with Pitt on Oct. 4. “My first reaction was, ‘Holy cow, how did she get so thin after having twins?’”

According to Star magazine, sources close to the family claim that Jolie was worried about the condition of her post-pregnancy body. Most mother-to-be’s think about this at least a little bit, but with twins on the way, Ms. Jolie was thinking about this a lot.

“She doesn’t like to talk about it or admit it, but Angie told some friends that she had a ‘mommy tuck,’ ” says a family friend. “She likes the way that sounds better than tummy tuck.”

In addition to the tummy tuck surgery, Ms. Jolie has been showing off some new tattoos to go along with her refreshed look as well: the tattoo contains geographic coordinates for the families new additions’ places of birth! In addition to attending the premiere, the Hollywood power-couple and family have also traveled to New Orleans as well.

Do you live in or near the Dallas and Fort Worth areas? If so, and you’re reading this, you’re probably interested in having a tummy tuck or some form of body contouring surgery performed. We reccomend Dallas plastic surgeon, Dr. Robert Schwartz, M.D.

Dr. Schwartz is a nationally recognized plastic surgeon, who frequently contributes to the medical community, via his “Plastic Surgery Today,” radio show and podcasts, authoring numerous plastic surgery articles and frequent medical journal contributions. Dr Schwartz has been serving the Dallas area for over 10 years, performing well over 1000 procedures and setting the standard for tummy tuck surgery in Dallas. Dr Schwartz is double board-certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery (ABPS) and the American Board of Surgery (ABS).

As most of our readership already knows, tummy tuck surgery is a major surgical procedure, designed to remove excess skin and fat from the abdomen and tighten the muscles of the abdominal wall. The procedure can dramatically reduce the appearance of a protruding or sagging abdomen.

Dr. Schwartz realizes that the tummy tuck isn’t a one-size-fits-all procedure. He customizes each abdominoplasty to suit the indivdual patient’s body and their cosmetic goals. As a Dallas tummy tuck surgeon, Dr. Schwartz is known for his attention to detail, bestowing effort on the little things — from creating a beautiful belly button to hiding the incision.

If you’re considering abdominoplasty, contact Dallas and Fort Worth tummy tuck surgeon, Dr. Robert Scwartz, today to find out what he can do for you and your figure.

One of the best ways to show what a product or service can do is to illustrate it through images and video. Having said that, here are some tummy tuck before and after photos and another informative tummy tuck video which shows and explains the procedure in greater detail.

And now, here’s the video…

Tummy Tuck pictures, courtesy of PlasticSurgery.com. Tummy Tuck video, courtesy of David E Kim, M.D.