ABDOMINOPLASTY SURGERY:
Tummy Tuck, Dermolipectomy

There are three different reasons why our patients come to Clínica Sanza in Barcelona for abdominoplasty surgery. It is not always for a purely aesthetic reason, but can also be to solve different diseases that we will explain below:

• The most common case, called Tummy Tuck, Dermolipectomy or Abdomen Lift, is usually for an aesthetic reason, to remove excess skin from the abdomen.
• It can also be due to a malformation of the navel, a condition known as umbilical hernia.
• Another cause may be due to problems in the abdominal musculature, this disease is called rectus abdominal diastasis.

Tummy Tuck, Dermolipectomy or abdomen lift

The abdominoplasty surgery for cosmetic reasons consists basically in removing the excess skin of the abdomen to make the skin more tense, with no wrinkles but also to correct muscular flaccidity and weakness.

In certain cases of obesity, after losing a lot of weight, after a large liposuction or if we have poor skin quality, it may be necessary to remove this excess skin from the abdomen with plastic surgery. It does not depend on having had a lot or little obesity, it is only a question of the quality of the skin, which does not retract and does not stay in place.

It should not be confused with abdominal liposuction, in which normally once the fat has been aspirated, without touching the skin at all, or cutting it, or doing anything at all to it, the skin that is left over after the operation retracts on its own and remains perfect. The problem is that in some people this is not the case.

If you are confused or interested in more information about liposuction of the abdomen, you can find all the details in this link:

See section on abdomen liposuctions surgery

See article on differences between liposuction and abdominoplasty (includes youtube video explaining it)

Clínica Sanza in Barcelona is a center of reference for abdominoplasty surgery.

Umbilical hernia

A umbilical hernia happens when a part of the intestine protrudes through an opening produced between the abdominal muscles, close to the belly button. It is something common and normally treated as an aesthetic issue, although depending on the case it can cause pain in the muscles in the abdomen. Normally our patients want to solve the problem because it looks bad, especially in summertime and it can be seen when wearing a bathing suit.

Umbilical hernias are more common in babies than in adults. In babies for instance, they usually close on its own during the first two years, but sometimes they can last up to 5 years or more.

Umbilical cords in adults can hardly close on its own and you need a surgery to close the opening.

In adults the main cause is too much pressure on the abdomen due to different reasons:

• Twin or multiple pregnancies
• Obesity
• A previous abdomen surgery
• Having liquid in the abdominal cavity
• Renal insufficiency that requires a peritoneal dialysis

Rectus abdominal diastasis

The muscles in the abdomen, the “famous” six-pack, has two muscles that go in a straight line from the chest to the genital area. Between these two muscles sometimes there is too much of a gap which is where the part of the intestine will protrude. The surgery of rectus abdominal diastasis consists in putting the intestine back in place and eliminate the intramuscular space, so the intestine does not come out again.

With a scan or ultrasound this problem can be easily checked.

The cause of having Rectus abdominal diastasis usually is

• Obesity
• Pregnancy