What are the long term effects of a tummy tuck?

Patient's who undergo tummy tuck or abdominoplasty procedure usually have a longstanding and enduring result. During an abdominoplasty procedure skin and fatty tissue is removed from the abdominal wall. Suctioning is often also accomplished through tumescent liposuction technique on the hip areas. Once this fat and skin is removed it is permanently removed. It shall never come back. However the residual fat cells certainly can become hypertrophied and enlarge if a patient has increased weight gain through poor diet or exercise. The tightening of the rectus sheath and rectus muscles is a permanent tightening. In general this can be however enhanced with significant abdominal wall exercising with a trainer post surgically. In general, the majority of patients who have undergone abdominoplasty procedures have been content with the result and many years later still have flat stomachs. Certainly the scarring associated with the bikini like scar extending from hip to hip as well as around the belly button region can be unpredictable and therefore the scarring associated with a tummy tuck should be weighed against the improved result of the flattening of the abdominal wall.