Abdominoplasty Gallery

RN and mother of 3 in her late 50s who has lost 35 lbs on a GLP-1 agonist. She is bothered by the bulging and laxity of her stomach. She has to “tuck in” the skin under her bathing suit. She is shown before and again, 4 ½ months after a Fleur de Lis abdominoplasty. She is thrilled with her new contour and doesn’t worry about whether her clothes will hide the bulge of her abdomen.

Discussion. Scars typically get thicker and redder for 6 weeks and then soften and fade over the next two years. We have her using topical silicone, which is working well to help fade her scars, but they will continue to fade and improve.

Before surgery, she was shown to have significant horizontal laxity of the upper stomach, which is not improved with a traditional abdominoplasty. The Fleur de Lis markings demonstrate the vertical component, which trades a vertical scar along the abdomen for a better correction. She is also noted to have a relatively higher umbilicus. I typically create a new umbilicus at the time of a Fleur de lis, and this allows us to keep her transverse incision much lower. One key does not fit all locks, and one type of abdominoplasty does not fit all patients. For patients with significant weight loss and horizontal laxity of the upper abdomen, who don’t mind trading a vertical scar for a better contour, a Fleur de lis abdominoplasty is often a good choice. I have attached a link to my video on different types of abdominoplasties.

A mother of 3 in her early 60s with bulging and laxity of her abdomen from pregnancy as well as bulging of the mons.  She has also lost weight with Wegovy.  She is shown before and again, 11 months after an extended abdominoplasty combined with liposuction of her mons’ area. She is thrilled with the improvement of her abdomen as well as the correction of her Mons pubis.  Patients do not like having bulging of their mons in clothing and this can be more noticeable after an abdominoplasty if it is not corrected.  Patients love being able to reach into their closet, and not worrying if the clothing they select will hide the bulging of their stomach and their mons.

A mother of 3 in her early to mid-60s is bothered by bulging and laxity of her stomach as well as bulging of her mons.  She is shown before and again, 7 MONTHS after lipoabdominoplasty.  The “diver’s view” demonstrates the tightening of the skin.  The side view shows the dramatic tightening of the abdominal muscles and improvement of the mons.  Liposuction was performed at the time of surgery to contour her mons.

A mother of 3 in her late 30s who is bothered by the appearance of her stomach in and out of clothing and also by her hips.  She is shown before and again, 8 ½ months after lipo abdominoplasty with floating of the umbilicus, combined with circumferential “360” liposuction of her hips and back rolls.

A mother of 1 in her late 40s shown before and again, 3 years after an extended lipo abdominoplasty.  She is 5 ft 1 ½ inches tall and 143 lbs and had 2 liters of fat aspirated from the upper stomach and 1440 grams of skin excised ( 454 grams = one pound)

A mother of 3 in her early to mid-60s is bothered by bulging and laxity of her stomach as well as bulging of her mons.  She is shown before and again, 4 months after lipoabdominoplasty.  The “diver’s view” demonstrates the tightening of the skin.  The side view shows the dramatic tightening of the abdominal muscles and improvement of the mons.

A mother of 2 in her early 60’s who is shown before and again, 4 years after an abdominoplasty. The diver’s view shows the dramatic tightening of the skin.  The oblique views show the beautiful sculpting of the abdomen with a periumbilical hollow and a “champagne groove” created at the time of surgery.  The muscles have been restored after the stretching from pregnancy.  Wow.  Exparel was used to limit the need for narcotics after surgery.

A mother of 3 in her mid to later 30s is bothered by the appearance of her abdomen in a bathing suit and fitted clothing.  She is shown before and again, 2 years after an abdominoplasty combined with liposuction of her flanks.  Because we treat all of the way around this can be called “360” liposuction with abdominoplasty.  Liposuction alone of the abdomen would not tighten the loose skin and loss of muscles of pregnancy and would not give the same improvement. His posterior view shows that we have reshaped the buttock and flank area with our “sculpting” to change her from a “square shape” to a “pear shape.”

A mother of 3 in her early 70s who was bothered by rolls and bulges of her abdominal skin in fitted clothing.  She had had a lower midline scar from previous ovarian surgery 50 years before and an upper mid-line scar from gallbladder surgery.  She is physically active and walks 3 miles, 4 days a week.  She is also active in Zumba dancing.  She is shown before and again, 13 months after a Fleur de Lis abdominoplasty with the creation of a new umbilicus.  Surgery was performed under general anesthesia as an outpatient.  She is thrilled with her result and can now wear fitted clothing.

Discussion:

Abdominoplasty is a significant recovery but a dramatic result.  Patients in their 60s and early 70s can be candidates if they are physically active, in good health, and maintain a BMI of 28 or below.  The risk of having a blood clot with surgery increases with age but she was able to be managed with venodyne boots during surgery ( boots that massage the legs) and then getting up to perform light walking each hour after her procedure. She already had a vertical scar in her midline so the  Fleur de Lis does not add additional scarring but the vertical component helps to tighten the horizontal laxity of the upper stomach and gives a better result for patients with “roll” above the umbilicus.