Board Certification and Credentials

One of the first and most important factors to consider is the surgeon’s qualifications. Verify that the surgeon has the necessary credentials and is board-certified in plastic surgery. A surgeon who has earned their board certification has demonstrated that they have completed extensive training, have the requisite skills, and uphold the highest ethical standards.

Experience in Revision Abdominoplasty

Not all plastic surgeons specialize in revision procedures, so it’s essential to choose a surgeon with specific experience in revision abdominoplasty. Look for a surgeon who has a proven track record of successful revisions and can provide before-and-after photos of previous patients who underwent similar procedures.

Communication and Comfort

Effective communication between you and your surgeon is crucial for a successful revision of an abdominoplasty. During your initial consultations, assess how well the surgeon listens to your concerns, explains the procedure, and addresses any questions you might have. Feeling comfortable with your surgeon is key to building trust and ensuring a positive surgical experience.

Customized Treatment Plans

Each revision of abdominoplasty is unique, and a one-size-fits-all approach might not give you the results you want. Look for a surgeon who develops personalized treatment plans based on your individual anatomy, goals, and previous surgical history. This tailored approach enhances the likelihood of achieving the desired outcome.

Availability of Follow-Up Care

Post-operative care is crucial for a successful recovery. Inquire about the surgeon’s availability for follow-up appointments and their commitment to ensuring your recovery progresses smoothly. A surgeon who is accessible and supportive during the post-operative period contributes to a positive overall experience.

Get Your Revision Surgery Done Right

Choosing the right surgeon for your revision abdominoplasty is a critical step toward achieving the aesthetic results you desire. If you’re in Austin, TX, start your consultation with Dr. Andrew Trussler by calling 512-450-1077 to book an appointment or fill out our online form.

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What Is a Tummy Tuck?

What we often call a tummy tuck is abdominoplasty, a cosmetic plastic surgery procedure that tightens and reshapes the abdominal area so it appears slimmer, tighter, and more aesthetically pleasing. The outcome of abdominoplasty surgery is an enhanced ability to wear just about any type of clothing without feeling self-conscious about sagging or protrusion. During the procedure, the surgeon tightens the abdominal muscles and skin and trims away the excess. This technique is excellent for correcting loose, sagging tissue.

Mini Tummy Tuck

The mini tummy tuck is a great surgical solution for people whose primary concern is lower abdominal sagging and softness. This procedure focuses on the tissue from the belly button down to the pubic line. No dissection or tightening occurs above the belly button, so the mini tummy tuck can often be performed using a shorter incision. Stretch marks that are located beneath the belly button can be eliminated via this more conservative approach. Any stretch marks that are located above the belly button would remain visible.

Full Tummy Tuck

During a full abdominoplasty procedure, the surgeon addresses muscle, fat, and skin in the same way they do during a mini tummy tuck. The difference is that the muscle tightening that occurs also includes tissue above the belly button. To achieve the best results, the surgeon may make one incision from hip to hip and a second incision around the belly button. This is necessary because tissue is tightened by gently pulling it down toward the horizontal incision at the hip area. Without repositioning, the belly button may appear too low on the abdomen. In some situations, a full tummy tuck may be enhance with the use of liposuction to achieve a more sculpted appearance.

Tummy Tuck Recovery

The primary factor involved in choosing the right tummy tuck technique is the degree of tissue laxity that needs to be corrected. One of the benefits of a mini tummy tuck is that recovery takes place over a two-week period. A full tummy tuck tends to take a full month for complete healing. Generally, though, after 7 to 10 days, the patient is able to stand completely upright with much less tightness and soreness. The remaining weeks are necessary for additional settling, incision healing, and swelling reduction.

Learn More

Tummy tuck surgery can be immensely gratifying. To explore the options that are available, contact our Austin, TX office at  (512) 450-1077.

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Abdominoplasty, also known as tummy tuck surgery, is an excellent way for a person to slim the contours of their midsection. But will this procedure produce curves that resemble an hourglass? We’ll discuss that potential here. 

What Can a Tummy Tuck Do?

The primary objective of tummy tuck surgery is to restore a flat, taut stomach. The procedure does this by tightening the abdominal muscle and trimming excess tissue and skin. Performed through a horizontal incision near the bikini line, the tummy tuck can eliminate loose, sagging tissue, repair muscle separation caused by pregnancy or obesity, and address the belly-button if need be. 

Now, What about That Hourglass Figure?

Even when the process of abdominoplasty is fully explained and understood, there may be a misconception that this procedure will result in a particular shape. The hourglass figure is back in style and many women are in search of their own curves. Slimming and sculpting the waistline through abdominoplasty seems like the logical path to follow. However, more may be needed to get the desired result. If your expectation is to have an hourglass figure, it is important to let your doctor know. To achieve this, ancillary procedures may be needed. 

Getting an hourglass figure has never been straightforward. Generally speaking, the idea has been that you’re either born with it or you’re not. Today, a combination of plastic surgery procedures can bust that myth. An hourglass figure may be built through slimming techniques like abdominoplasty and contouring techniques like breast augmentation and buttocks augmentation. Several types of breast implants are available today to create natural-looking and natural-feeling results. To improve the shape of the buttocks, Dr. Trussler performs fat transfer.

Factors to Consider

The biggest factor to consider in the quest for an hourglass figure is your natural anatomy. Regardless of what procedure a patient seeks, the experienced surgeon will prepare them for a realistic outcome. The expected outcome is based on the patient’s hip width, natural waist circumference, and other anatomical structures as made by Mother Nature. 

Explore the Possibilities

As we mentioned, the hourglass figure is back in style. Many adults are turning to plastic surgery to achieve this shape but most need to do so through a combination of procedures. After consulting with a patient and observing their natural shape, Dr. Trussler develops the best possible treatment plan to accomplish their desired changes. To explore how he may help you attain your cosmetic goals, contact our Austin office at (512) 450-1077.

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Why Have a Tummy Tuck?

You want your old body back.

This may sound odd to put it this way because some people have a tummy tuck to correct the effects of aging around their midsection. We trust you know what we mean. Having abdominoplasty is a way to restore the shape of the body to what it once was. In some cases, a tummy tuck can make the midsection look better than it ever has. Its ability to tighten muscles and tissue loosened by pregnancy or extreme weight loss makes abdominoplasty a great procedure for many circumstances.

You want to feel more confident in your appearance.

We all have a certain image of ourselves in our mind’s eye. When the body does not reflect this image, confidence can suffer. The desire for greater confidence can be a driving force in the decision to have a tummy tuck. What is important to understand here is that no plastic surgery can create confidence. The ideal patient, and the one who is typically happiest with their results, is the person who has a good sense of self before their surgery. The new shape is just a reflection of what has been imagined for years.

Diet and exercise just aren’t doing it.

Maintaining healthy lifestyle habits is essential for overall wellness and weight management. However, many people find that their weight loss and fitness don’t translate into the smooth, flat stomach they want. Abdominoplasty addresses the laxity that results from physical changes in the midsection in a way that diet and exercise cannot.  When your lifestyle habits are dialed in, your abdominoplasty results are icing on the cake that you can enjoy for many years.

Learn more about the value of a tummy tuck. Call our Austin office at (512) 450-1077 for your consultation.

The post Exploring Reasons for a Tummy Tuck appeared first on Andrew Trussler, MD, PLLC.

1. The midsection has changed due to pregnancy.

We all know that a woman’s stomach expands a great deal during pregnancy to accommodate her growing fetus. There is an expectation that the muscles and skin that have stretched will naturally return to normal at some point. Thanks to social media, this expectation is often that the stomach will flatten and tighten within the first year of motherhood, if not within just a few months. This is not a guarantee, nor is it even all that common. A tummy tuck can restore the integrity of the abdominal wall, trim excess skin, and minimize (if not eliminate) stretch marks.

2. Weight changes have left the midsection saggy.

When someone has been overweight for many months or years, their skin and connective tissue may not bounce back easily. For some, rapid or significant weight loss results in skin so loose and saggy that they continue to look somewhat bulky. Even after reaching an ideal weight, people with loose tissue may not wear their true size. They may still feel self-conscious. A tummy tuck can resolve these problems and allow the new shape to be seen.

3. The aging stomach has become loose and flabby.

We are living longer and living healthier, according to studies. However, maintaining a suitable weight and a healthy diet doesn’t guarantee that the midsection won’t change. This is because hormones play a part in how the body ages. Many people, sometime around mid-life, notice that their weight seems to shift to their belly. This can happen even when weight remains relatively stable. The loss of firmness and elasticity in the skin can make it seem as though the midsection is holding excess weight when it’s not. Abdominoplasty can tighten the aging muscles and trim skin as needed to restore a smoother, flatter midsection.

Regardless of age, many people are interested in how their midsection makes them look. Protruding fat, loose skin, and sagging can all affect appearance as well as self-confidence. To learn more about the abdominoplasty procedure and what it can do for you, call (512) 450-1077 and schedule a visit to our Austin, TX office.

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One of the most critical factors that influence how patients feel as they go through their makeover, no matter how significant or subtle, is their expectations. We don’t just mean expectations about the ore end result, either. We also must discuss what it is like to recover from surgery and how long that may take. Tummy tuck patients commonly want to know when they can get back to life as they know it. In particular, many are interested in resuming their active lifestyle. Here, we discuss how this may transpire.

What a Tummy Tuck Does

If you’ve been researching abdominoplasty, you may already know that this procedure smooths and tightens the midsection. Various abdominoplasty techniques are performed to meet each patient’s need for correction. Across the board, though, a tummy tuck intends to trim excess skin and muscle that have loosened over time. The tummy tuck is performed through one long incision that runs hip to hip. First, the abdominal muscle is carefully pulled taut so that it is flat. Excess muscle is trimmed and the two ends are artfully sutured together. The overlying skin is then pulled down toward the incision and is also trimmed, resulting in a flatter, smoother stomach.

Abdominoplasty Recovery

Abdominoplasty surgery is not known for an easy recovery. In fact, it may be misperceived as more difficult than it truly is. What most patients discover is that their recovery is right in the middle. Healing from a tummy tuck is not intolerably painful. Discomfort is manageable with prescription pain medication taken for a few days and then, within the first week, a switch to over-the-counter medication. What patients do need to realize is that they will be physically limited for 1 to 2 weeks after this procedure. This is because the abdominal muscles are tightened and standing upright is not possible for several days. With a little time, the muscle relaxes and mobility returns to normal. But how long does that take?

People who have a tummy tuck should expect to need help with household duties and childcare for up to 2 weeks. After about 3 weeks, most patients return to work, provided their job does not require a lot of physical activity. By week 4 after surgery, patients feel more like themselves again. They can move more freely and have regained most of their energy. Exercise may begin to resume sometime between 4 and 6 weeks post-op, provided tissue healing is progressing well.

Feel confident in your body with a tummy tuck. Call (512) 450-1077 to schedule your consultation in our Austin office.

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Failing to reach an ideal shape doesn’t mean a woman hasn’t done her best, or that she hasn’t done the right things. When a woman’s body weight changes, whether through pregnancy or otherwise, her abdominal wall is affected. A woman’s body has midline muscles that can loosen and stretch to accommodate pregnancy. These muscles can stretch so much that they can’t bounce back fully. They can also separate.

When the midline abdominal muscles separate (diastasis recti), the overall support of abdominal tissue decreases. Fat and muscle tissue call “spill out” similarly to the way that breast tissue does when the bra is unsnapped. This is because the abdominal muscles are a type of internal corset that prevents distention. As you may have guessed, exercise can tighten abdominal muscles under normal circumstances, but not when extreme weakening or separation has occurred.

Abdominoplasty to the Rescue

Weak, loose abdominal tissue can be righted through the tummy tuck procedure. The techniques that are available differ slightly, but all do one thing: they tighten the abdominal wall. Tummy tuck surgery also trims loose skin, which may eliminate some stretch marks. To maximize the outcome, a surgeon may also include liposuction into the treatment plan. The reason this is done that liposuction does what a tummy tuck can’t, it can remove small pockets of excess fat that may still be visible after the abdomen is tightened.

A tummy tuck does require some downtime, but patients rarely encounter difficulty with their healing. Many are surprised that they notice changes right away (unlike what nonsurgical body-contouring achieves). To find out what a tummy tuck can do for you, schedule a consultation at our Austin office. Call (512) 450-1077.

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The question that keeps a lot of people from moving forward with cosmetic surgery for a flatter tummy is, how does this need to go down? Let’s explore some options.

Liposuction

It is easy to jump to the conclusion that a flatter tummy is made possible by tummy-tuck surgery. This may not always be the right solution. In some situations, liposuction can address the issue at hand quite well. Liposuction has been refined over the past few decades to now include various technologies that minimize nerve and tissue trauma while preparing cells for the easiest possible extraction. Dr. Trussler is well-versed in a number of these technologies and selects the most appropriate based on the treatment area and unique factors for a given case.

Liposuction is suitable for healthy adults whose skin is more likely to bounce back after fat reduction.

Abdominoplasty

Abdominoplasty, or tummy tuck surgery, is performed with the objective of creating a smoother, tighter surface. The tummy tuck does not remove excess fat; it removes excess skin. Abdominoplasty can also minimize the appearance of, or completely remove, stretch marks. Also, abdominal muscles that have lost their shape are tightened against the abdominal wall during a tummy tuck. This is all performed through a horizontal incision between the hip bones.

Abdominoplasty is appropriate for individuals whose abdominal tissue hangs loosely after weight loss or pregnancy.

Liposuction and abdominoplasty are not exclusive; the two make a great pairing! Identifying which procedure may be best for your needs is not a difficult task. Just schedule a consultation with your Austin plastic surgeon, Dr. Trussler. Call 512-450-1077 for friendly assistance.

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Finding the Balance

Living healthy means exercise. But when should you head back to the gym or your yoga studio following the operation on your delicate abdominal muscles? Here, we will discuss the value of patience in your post-abdominoplasty workouts in a general timeline of resuming activities.

For the first two weeks after abdominoplasty, if not longer, healthy living equates to eating well and giving your body the rest it needs to recuperate fully. After these first weeks, soreness will have decreased enough for you to want to engage in more physical activities. Remember, patience! Starting slow means a safer recovery. Before jumping into a hefty workout, try walking around the block. If you are still taking pain medications, even walking on a treadmill may not be the best idea. Stick to a level surface, and consider walking with a companion the first few times you venture out.

Strength training is a popular fitness method and may be resumed – to a very low degree – after about a month if you feel up to some resistance. Light weights should be used, and all exercises should focus on specific areas. You don’t want to use your abdominal muscles just yet!

Let’s talk Crunches

Why does one go through the abdominoplasty procedure except to tone and tighten their midsection! When this is the goal, it may seem counterintuitive to avoid crunches and sit-ups for many months following surgery. It takes approximately six months for tissues to heal into the 90% range. The thing in, you need to be at 100% function before you start to work those fragile muscles with targeted exercise.

Err on the Side of Caution

There are several risks to pushing the body into exercise for which it is not ready. The very act of elevating the heart rate presents a risk of bleeding and complications. We are here to support our patients before, during, and after the tummy tuck procedure. To learn more about body contouring, call our Austin practice at 512-450-1077.

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A mini-tummy tuck, or mini-abdominoplasty, is a deceptive plastic surgery term that often confuses patients. In this era of minimally invasive and non-invasive body contouring procedures, patients are attracted to the thought of a smaller and less invasive procedure. A mini-tummy tuck is typically a buzz word for many patients seeking body contouring, but only about 20% of tummy tuck patients are good candidates for the procedure.

• A mini-tummy tuck is a powerful abdominal contouring procedure when performed in the properly selected patient.

The “mini” term is often related to a shorter incision and less scar burden. In reality the scar may be just as long as a full tummy tuck and the muscle tightening just as extensive.

The main difference in a mini and full tummy tuck is the amount of skin tightening above the belly button, and the need for an incision around the belly button to re-site it.

It is important to differentiate a candidate for a mini-tummy tuck from a full tummy tuck because it is difficult to convert a mini-tummy tuck patient to a full tummy tuck after the mini procedure is performed.

A mini-tummy tuck is designed for a patient with limited skin laxity and excess relegated to well below the belly button. Liposuction and muscle tightening is similar to a full abdominoplasty. The incision for a mini tummy tuck can extend out to the hip and is made long enough to eliminate the excess skin. Small amounts of excess skin above the belly button can be eliminated with an umbilical float procedure, which re-positions the belly button about 1 to 2 cm lower in height.

Dr. Trussler designs the incision pattern is made in a U to M fashion to help recruit the outer abdominal skin in an oblique direction to provide a narrow, contoured waist line. The incision is placed low along the pubis, which will incorporate most C-section scars. A 10 cm distant at a minimum is left from belly button to incision in a mini-tummy tuck.

The umbilical (belly button) stalk is often transected making repair of umbilical hernias straightforward. The muscle spread or diastasis recti can be repaired in its entirety through the lower abdominal incision with two layers of permanent sutures.

• Dr. Trussler uses specially designed retractors for this part of the procedure to help maintain the blood supply to the lower abdominal skin.

Liposuction can be applied safely to the abdomen to help reduce the thickness of the abdominal tissue, contour and shape the abdomen, as well as release the skin prior to removal. This discontinuous undermining is used in both a mini and a full tummy tuck which helps to maintain the blood supply to the abdominal skin. This lipo-abdominoplasty technique improves the healing potential and decreases the need for drains. Only one drain is typically used in a mini tummy tuck and may be left in place for 2 to 4 days, as compared to two drains in a full tummy tuck.

Two to three layers of sutures are used to close all abdominoplasty incisions and with proper technique, standing upright is possible in 4 days.

An abdominal binder is used to help support the abdomen in all diastasis repairs, to allow the abdominal wall and muscle to heal without external forces. Recovery is similar to a tummy tuck with 2-3 week return to cardio and 6 weeks to return to full activity.

• A mini-tummy tuck and full tummy tuck are very similar procedures with similar recovery but patient selection is vital. It is important to differentiate candidates for both procedures based on their abdominal anatomy and skin distribution, not on patient choice.

Andrew P. Trussler MD is an experienced plastic surgeon in Austin Texas with advanced training in cosmetic body contouring surgery including mini and full tummy tucks.

Dr. Trussler’s Austin plastic surgery office can help guide you in correcting commonly seen cosmetic body contouring issues. A tummy tuck is a plastic surgery procedure in Austin Texas that should be a smooth and straight-forward process that will help improve appearance and self confidence.

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