Quatela Center for Plastic Surgery
973 East Avenue
Rochester, NY 14607
Phone: (585) 244-1000
Fax: (585) 271-4786
Monday–Friday: 8:30 a.m.–5 p.m.
Calculate your BMI to see if you are a candidate for a tummy tuck. Visit our patient safety page here.
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A tummy tuck removes excess skin and repairs abdominal muscles, if necessary, resulting in a contoured midsection. The procedure is often combined with liposuction, which removes excess fat for a more sculpted waist and flanks. Women who have finished having children may also want cosmetic breast surgery as part of a Mommy Makeover.
Dr. William J. Koenig is a double board-certified plastic surgeon with over 26 years of experience. He specializes in breast and body procedures and has performed over 6,000 breast augmentations throughout his years of practice.
Dr. Ashley N. Amalfi is a board-certified plastic surgeon who specializes in cosmetic surgery of the breast and body. With her experience and innate attention to detail, Dr. Amalfi achieves personalized surgical outcomes that help patients look and feel their best.
Abdominal skin stretched by pregnancy or large weight gain often will not return to its former state after childbirth or weight loss. Men and women who undergo weight loss surgery, such as a gastric bypass, will typically have excess skin that hangs in rolls over the waist. Exercise and making changes to your diet won’t help tighten the skin or repair stretched abdominal muscles.
If you’re self-conscious about having excess abdominal skin and avoid wearing a bikini or if you’re a man, taking your shirt off in public, a tummy tuck is an excellent option. You should be in good overall health and have reasonable expectations about the results. The procedure is particularly beneficial if you’ve given birth and don’t plan to have additional children or if you’ve lost a significant amount of weight and have excess skin.
The consultation is your opportunity to meet your surgeon, discuss your concerns about your appearance, and ask questions about the potential benefits of having a tummy tuck. Your surgeon reviews your medical history and current medications, and performs a physical examination.
After listening to you describe your short and long-term aesthetic goals, your surgeon may recommend an abdominoplasty, a different procedure, or combining the tummy tuck with other cosmetic surgery. Before-and-after photos of our recent tummy tuck patients help you visualize the procedure’s potential results. After an open and honest discussion, your surgeon will create a customized treatment plan and a member of our team will quote a specific cost of the tummy tuck before you leave.
To assist in ensuring a safe procedure and a smooth recovery, take care of the following a week or two before surgery:
A nurse reviews with you detailed pre- and post-operative abdominoplasty instructions and it is important that you carefully read through these instructions. Please do not hesitate to contact the Quatela Center for Plastic Surgery if you have any questions.
Our surgeons use general anesthesia during a tummy tuck and the procedure generally takes 2 to 4 hours. Their expertise and training in various surgical techniques allows them to tailor the procedure to your needs.
Your surgeon begins by making a vertical incision from hip to hip just above the pubic bone. A full tummy tuck involves repositioning the belly button, so the surgeon makes an incision around the navel and down to connect with the vertical incision. Then excess skin and fat are removed. Liposuction is a common part of a tummy tuck our surgeons use to sculpt and shape the abdomen. A full tummy tuck also includes tightening the abdominal muscles. Before closing the incisions, your surgeon pulls the underlying tissue tight.
A mini tummy tuck is best for patients seeking the majority of correction below the belly button. This procedure involves a shorter incision than a full tummy tuck, similar to that of a Caesarean section. The surgeon removes excess skin and fat and tightens the layer of skin just below the belly button.
A reverse tummy tuck is an excellent option for people who need skin tightening and/or muscle correction in the upper abdomen to create a smoother, tighter appearance. The incision is placed across the inframammary fold (breast crease), which allows it to be easily hidden by a bra or two-piece bathing suit. With scarring being a chief concern for many potential patients, our surgeons find that the majority of their patients are highly satisfied with their results after surgery.
After pregnancy or drastic weight loss, patients often seek a combination of breast augmentation with or without a lift and a reverse tummy tuck. One benefit of combining these procedures is that the same incision can be used for both thereby minimizing scarring.
Most patients are able to return to work and normal activities one week after surgery. Patients typically have mild to moderate pain immediately after surgery but report that it typically decreases significantly after the first few days.
As a destination practice offering world-class care, the Quatela Center attracts patients from around the globe. Our virtual consultations and support program take the effort out of travelling for surgery.
Patients each recover at their own pace, but there are some general guidelines that are useful to keep in mind. Most tummy tuck patients need up to 2 weeks for the initial recovery. Expect bruising and swelling in the abdominal area, which should resolve gradually during the recovery process. Your surgeon prescribes medication to help you remain comfortable. A pain pump is used for most patients. The drainage tubes inserted during the procedure remain in place for 4 to 5 days before your surgeon removes them at a follow‐up appointment. Also, a specialized tight-fitting garment that helps you heal is worn for several weeks.
Initially, the results are difficult to notice because of swelling which may take up to 6 to 8 months to fade.
While scars are inevitable with any surgery, our surgeons attempt to make abdominoplasty incisions low enough that the resulting scar is easily concealed when wearing even a low-cut bikini bottom. Additionally, we offer Scar Revision/Therapies, an advanced scar therapy that specifically helps healing and reduces the appearance of surgical scars. Over-the-counter creams and oils are also available for scar treatment.
Our plastic surgeons review a variety of factors to ensure plastic surgery is a safe choice for you.
Below are answers to some of the questions our surgeons hear most frequently about tummy tuck surgery.
Expect to return to work after a week or 2, but you shouldn’t resume vigorous exercise for 6 weeks.
Abdominoplasty performed by a highly trained and experienced plastic surgeon such as ours is considered an extremely safe and effective procedure. As with any surgical procedure, complications can occur. Some of these include bleeding, infection, scarring, blood clots, and fluid collection.
Our surgeons perform all of their procedures at the Lindsay House Surgery Center, the Quatela Center for Plastic Surgery’s private, on-site operating facility.
We recommend getting a tummy tuck only after you’ve decided not to have more children. During a tummy tuck, your surgeon tightens the skin and abdominal muscle fascia (both of which stretch during pregnancy). A pregnancy after having a tummy tuck likely will undo much of the improvement achieved with the surgery.
The results from a tummy tuck procedure should last indefinitely as long as you maintain a relatively healthy lifestyle that includes regular exercise and a nutritious diet. Gaining a significant amount of weight after the procedure can compromise the results.
Procedures that can be combined with a tummy tuck are Liposuction and cosmetic breast surgery, such as breast augmentation with a lift. Combining these procedures is often referred to as a Mommy Makeover.
The different types of tummy tucks are:
Stretch marks on the lower part of the abdomen below the belly button will be included in the section of skin that is removed. If you have stretch marks higher on the abdomen, they won’t be removed. Because the procedure tightens that skin, the appearance of those stretch marks usually improves.
The cost of a tummy tuck varies, depending on your specific needs and goals. All prices quoted from the Quatela Center are all-inclusive and include pre and postoperative appointments, surgeon’s fees, surgery center fees, and anesthesia costs. For more information, see our page on Plastic Surgery Costs.
People who live in Buffalo, Syracuse, and other areas of New York travel to the Quatela Center for Plastic Surgery for tummy tuck surgery and other body contouring procedures. Request your consultation using the online form to meet personally with one of our body contouring plastic surgeons or give our office a call at (585) 244-1000 to schedule an appointment.
The Quatela Center for Plastic Surgery in Rochester is proud to serve patients from throughout Upstate NY. We are honored to be the area’s premier plastic surgery center, and give every patient our undivided attention and the quality of care they deserve. Learn more about how we support our New York patients on their surgical journeys:
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