Tummy Tuck 360 in Charlotte

How is a Tummy Tuck 360 Performed?

A tummy tuck-360 is performed under general anesthesia. First, Dr. Ditesheim will analyze your unique frame and create a plan for a tummy tuck procedure. Once the tummy tuck has been performed, he will then use liposuction to selectively remove or add pockets of fat from the sides and back, creating a sculpted appearance that enhances your natural curves.

What to Expect During Recovery After a Tummy Tuck-360

A tummy tuck does NOT have to be painful. This is probably the most common fear Dr. Ditesheim hears from talking to women in consultation. Here is the secret: Pain with a tummy tuck comes from tightening the skin too tight or tightening the inner fascial (muscle) layer excessively. Most women do not need a lot of tightening. His goal is to restore your natural shape by correcting the inner weakness, removing excess skin, and shaping with liposuction.

After surgery, you will have a detailed set of instructions to have the quickest and least painful recovery. Within hours of the surgery you will be up and walking. Our Enhanced Recovery Program is designed to get you back to yourself as quickly as possible. “I tell all tummy tuck patients, you can expect to be back to 80% of your pre-surgery self within two weeks”, says Dr. Ditesheim. To be 100%, it may take a year.

The First Days

In the first three days, you may need some pain medicine or non-steroidals (Motrin), but you will be walking, eating and drinking as usual. You will wear a compression garment around the clock. You may have drains but they will be gone by the first week. This is an important time for a lymphatic massage to really help you with the early pain and swelling. The first week is all about you and getting you back to yourself.

The second week is about helping you to regain your life. If you work from home, you may start back on the computer, though many patients are back online in the first week. You will be finished with the pain meds by this time. Still having help for your daily tasks is important: get help for walking the dog or managing the children or running the house.

Returning to Regular Activities

Exercise begins the night of surgery with a little bit of walking. Any regular activity or exercise (where you don’t have to grunt or sweat) is perfectly ok for the first 4 weeks. That includes walking the treadmill. If you are a gym regular, you should wait about four weeks and if you had tummy core tightening, wait about six weeks for the healing to occur.

Showers: Yes, from day 1. Even with a drain(s), showers are encouraged. After the drains are removed, it is okay to take that soaking bath. In fact, add some Epsom salts and you may see less swelling!

Driving: You can drive as soon as you feel like yourself. Do not drive if you are still taking narcotics.

Having help: Yes, Yes, Yes. Remember, having a tummy tuck is a big deal. It is a big decision and you only need to do it once in your life. So plan for a time when you can have the help you need. You will need someone to help you in the first 3-7 days and you will need someone to manage everything you do normally for the first two weeks.

How Long Do the Results Last?

The absolute best part of a tummy tuck is that it lasts forever. The stretched skin from pregnancy or extreme weight loss is removed permanently. The Tummy Tuck-360, by combining the tummy tuck with circumferential liposuction, permanently removes fat from the problem areas. Remember, when you gain weight, the fat cells all get bigger. The reason you have rolls and bulges is that there are more fat cells in that problem area. Liposuction reduces the density of fat, so even when you gain a little weight, the problem areas don’t return.

When women say that “the fat came back somewhere else after a lipo or tummy tuck procedure,” what actually happened is they gained weight and the areas that were not treated now look bigger than before surgery. Maintaining your weight after a Tummy Tuck-360 within 10 pounds will allow you to see the results you love for years.

Is There Scarring After a Tummy Tuck 360 Procedure?

There will be a scar across the lower tummy, either at the pubic hair margin or just below. The scar will extend to the hip bone and sometimes laterally. The more skin to remove, the longer the scar must be. The secret to having the best scar is where it is placed and how it is made at surgery. The best scar follows the natural areas of the body (following the place where the thigh meets the tummy).

Dr. Ditesheim uses special advanced surgical techniques including Progressive Tension Sutures, which spreads the tension across the entire tummy and not on the scar. Dr. Ditesheim has a special Scar Recovery Program to help you have the best scar possible.

Over the first year, the scar will fade. Early scar massage is very helpful and laser treatments can also soften and minimize a “tougher scar.” While many brown- and black-skinned women are concerned about keloids or abnormally raised or thick scars, keloid scar formation is actually very rare. If you have other scars on your body that have healed normally, you do not have abnormal healing, nor would you be at risk for keloids.

Looking at tummy tuck results on our gallery, you will see that the scar is always easily covered by the bikini or panty garment.