Plan a Tummy Tuck in Spring

Spring for a tummy tuck in March, and schedule your lipoabdominoplasty

Now that you’ve worked off those extra pounds and finished spring cleaning, it’s time to do something for yourself before summer swimsuit season arrives. March is an excellent time to consider a lipoabdominoplasty, which tightens the abdominal muscles, removes stubborn fat, and eliminates excess skin. Alan Greenberg, MD, is board certified in cosmetic surgery of the body, breasts and extremities, and offers this modern tummy tuck as an outpatient procedure.

However, you should check the calendar before making plans to show off your new shape. Allow two weeks before going back to work, plan on six weeks wearing a compression garment, and refrain from heavy lifting or strenuous workouts for two months. Make plans now so our Frisco cosmetic surgeon can help you look your best before the summer sun touches your skin.

A safer tummy tuck

Avoid the need for general anesthesia with a lipoabdominoplasty. This tummy tuck uses tumescent or “awake” anesthesia, which is a saline solution of lidocaine, epinephrine and a blood vessel constrictor combined with local anesthetics. Tumescent anesthesia offers numerous benefits:

• Numbs the area being treated
• Separates fat from the abdominal fascia, the thin layer of tissue covering the abdomen, so it can be easily removed with a narrow liposuction cannula
• Reduces bleeding and the use of electrocautery (heat) to separate tissue or seal blood vessels
• Eliminates the need for massive dissection of the abdominal flap
• Allows communication between the patient and doctor
• Provides faster recovery, with patients waking up and walking shortly after surgery
• Offers additional pain control
• Costs less than general anesthesia because patients need less time in the clinic’s operating and recovery rooms, and hospitalization is not required

Your comfort during a lipoabdominoplasty

In addition to tumescent anesthesia, our Frisco cosmetic surgeon provides you with an oral sedative to relax during the first part of the tummy tuck. Then, you undergo total IV or “twilight” sedation/anesthesia for the second part of the procedure. Unlike general anesthesia using anesthesia gases, in which patients are effectively paralyzed until revived, twilight sedation allows patients to breathe on their own. However, we do require that you have someone drive you home, and ask you to delay making big decisions after any lipoabdominoplasty.

Try a mini tummy tuck

It you have less tummy to tuck – perhaps small fat deposits or loose skin – consider our Renuvion™ skin tightening treatment. Best paired with liposuction, Renuvion does not tighten the muscles or remove excess skin. It simply tightens skin without leaving a large scar.

Start planning for summer this spring

Find out whether you are a candidate for a lipoabdominoplasty or a mini tummy tuck. Contact our Frisco cosmetic surgeon for a free consultation, and see why clients are marking their calendars. Your summer may shape up to be something special, too.