Background: Tummy tuck surgery can be an incredibly effective body contouring procedure. It achieves its effects through the removal of a large segment of loose skin and fat often combined with liposuction fat removal in areas beyond the zone of the cut out tissue segment. The benefits of tummy tucks can easily be seen in numerous plastic surgeon’s before and after photos.
But an interesting tummy tuck question is how long does the result last? Do the impressive early results persist and, if so, for how long?
Recent studies have shown that tummy tuck surgery may lead to significant and persistent weight loss for many women, particularly those who were overweight before surgery. (February 2013 issue of the journal Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery) It is postulated that this weight loss is due to a feeling of greater satiety after eating or other neuroendocrine mechanisms that may promote weight loss after surgery. It may be that the large loss of fat cells from the excised tissue segment may cause a lowering of certain hormonal levels that affect appetite. This is a plausible but unproven theory.
Case Study: This 38 year-old female wanted to get rid of her stomach rolls and reshape her waistline. She was not at an ideal weight but needed something to get her going in a positive direction and decided that surgery would be a good impetus for it.
Under general anesthesia, a full tummy tuck was performed along with liposuction of her flanks. She recovered well and after six weeks recovery and a few follow-up appointments was not seen again…until ten years later when she returned for breast reshaping surgery.
Her long-term tummy tuck results showed an overall body that was thinner and much more shapely than before surgery. It was clear she had continued to lose weight and get in better shape beyond what the initial tummy tuck surgery had achieved. This may have ben the result of a neuroendocrine effect but the psychological effects of increased patient motivation can not be denied as a contributing cause as well.
Case Highlights:
1) Tummy tuck surgery can dramatically change the shape of one’s stomach and waistline through a combined excisional and fat extraction approach.
2) Many tummy tucks will have a sustained and long-term effect through the removal of loose skin and fat cells in the excisional segment.
3) Some tummy tuck patients will go on to even improve their tummy tuck results through additional weight loss and body toning efforts.
Dr. Barry Eppley
Indianapolis, Indiana