Tummy Tuck Before & After Case 697

With her three children fully grown, this 46-year-old mother was ready to start a new chapter in her life. She hoped to reclaim her figure with a tummy tuck to address concerns like excess skin and rectus diastasis. Her lateral trunk laxity and underlying lipodystrophy made her an ideal candidate for an abdominoplasty (tummy tuck) combined with liposuction of the flanks. As an out-of-town patient, I recommended she stay in Houston for a minimum of 7 days for her 1-week follow-up. After that, she could return to Dallas and then travel back to Houston for her 6-week follow-up.

During the well-executed procedure, which considered her 5'2", 155-pound frame, I began by performing liposuction on the deep and superficial planes using feathering and crosshatching techniques to achieve optimal contours. We removed 1150 cc of fat from her right flank and 1200 cc from her left flank. During her tummy tuck, I incorporated her previous Pfannenstiel (C-section) incision into the abdominal sculpting process. Her abdominal wall muscles were plicated, followed by the removal of 1052 grams (approximately 2.3 lbs) of excess tissue, leaving her with a tighter, smoother abdominal area.

As a female plastic surgeon, I am keenly aware of the physical changes that pregnancy and childbirth can invoke. This awareness motivates my approach to procedures like the tummy tuck, ensuring remarkable results that uplift my patients' confidence and help restore their pre-baby shape. Being the first African American woman in Texas to be double board-certified by the American Board of Surgery and the American Board of Plastic Surgery, I am dedicated to treating my patients at my conveniently located Houston practice with the highest level of care, whether they are locals or traveling from out of town like this patient.