Juan Carlos Cardenas - Plastic Surgeon

A protuberant abdomen can be a cause of discomfort in both men and women. This may be caused by excess fat, weak abdominal muscles, pregnancy or excess of skin. For those who have had a lot of weight the only way to lose the excess of skin is this surgery. Abdominoplasty is to remove excess fat and skin in the abdomen, the standard procedure is one in which the lower abdomen is withdrawn, in fact, skin and fat are lifted and stretched until the bottom of it; The scars, although large, will improve in a period of 6 months to a year. This procedure takes 3 to 4 hours and is performed under general anesthesia, it is advised a day of hospitalization. In an abdominoplasty a drain for 8 to10 days or until the production of liquid stops is necessary, a girdle must be used at least for 3 weeks. If the abdominal muscles of a person have been stretched by pregnancy or obesity is necessary to unite the muscle and this also improves the definition of the waist.

WHO ARE THE BEST CANDIDATES FOR AN ABDOMINOPLASTY? The best candidates are men and women who although having a good figure, have excess skin and / or fat or women who have had pregnancies. Abdominoplasty works best for people with normal and stable weight, if your intention is to lose more weight you should consider postponing your abdominoplasty untill reaching your ideal weight. Abdominoplasty is not a technique to lose weight.

WHAT ARE THE RISKS OF AN ABDOMINOPLASTY? Each year thousands of people successfully undergo an abdominoplasty and say to be satisfied with the results, however any surgical procedure has inherent risks such as those of anesthesia, bleedings, infections, inflammation, prolonged healing or keloids, the loss of skin and thrombosis.

HOW TO PREPARE FOR AN ABDOMINOPLASTY? When the date for the procedure has been agreed, your plastic surgeon will give you specific instructions for the days immediately before and after your surgery. Some are:

o Avoid certain medications that can complicate recovery from surgery

o Stop smoking for a period of time before and after surgery.

o Fix the help and special care associated with the surgery in the post-operative.