Abdominoplasty in New Jersey

On the day of your surgery, plan to arrive about two hours before your start time to complete registration. Then, the surgical team will bring you back to the pre-operative section of the O.R. to get marked and prepped for surgery and review your case a final time with Dr. Spiro. At this point, you’ll get your IV started and meet our experienced O.R. nursing staff. Then, you’ll listen to the music of your choice to help you relax.

After surgery, you’ll go to the post-anesthesia care unit for about two hours, followed by the recovery room for another two hours. Patients stay overnight in the hospital where Dr. Spiro will see you the next day with the nursing team.

A tummy tuck cost can vary widely depending on your customized surgical plan and the technique used. Our care team and Dr. Spiro can provide an accurate estimate after meeting with you and learning about your concerns.

Most of Dr. Spiro’s patients don’t describe their recovery from tummy tuck surgery as painful, but they do experience tightness and soreness. Pain is a subjective matter, though. You can manage any discomfort you experience after your tummy tuck with a brief course of prescription pain medication. After a few days, you can switch to an over-the-counter solution like ibuprofen.

Most patients return to work after two or three weeks. If your job involves lifting or other forms of physical exertion, you may need to take more time off, perhaps four to six weeks, or arrange to return to light-duty work for your first weeks back on the job.

I recommend that you avoid lifting anything heavy, including a small child or a pet weighing more than a few pounds, for about four weeks after your surgery. If you have young children, you’ll probably need to plan to have some extra help.

Most patients notice immediate improvements after a tummy tuck, but it takes a few weeks for the post-surgical swelling to go down. That’s when you’ll start seeing a definite difference from the surgery. It can also take time for your abdominal muscles to adjust to the changes. Between 6 months and a year after your surgery, the last of the swelling will disappear, your scars will fade, and your abdomen will feel toned rather than tight. At that point, you’ll see and feel the dramatic enhancements from your procedure.

Tummy tuck alterations are permanent if you maintain a stable weight with healthy eating and exercise habits. Of course, your skin will continue to age, but it won’t go back to the sagging you experienced before the surgery if you don’t stretch it again with weight gain or pregnancy.

The changes made by this surgery will not interfere with your ability to get pregnant or carry a child to term. A future pregnancy may or may not affect your tummy tuck, and you may reverse some or all the improvements. For this reason, it’s best to wait until you finish having children before having a tummy tuck.

Decide what areas bother you, and come prepared with questions about how these areas can be improved. It may be helpful to bring a support person to your consultation who will be helping you during your recovery as a second set of ears. Above all, have reasonable expectations and achievable goals.

Dr. Spiro has a unique way of prepping patients by having them wear abdominal binders for 7 days before surgery to get them used to the feeling of a tight abdomen. Tummy tuck surgery is performed in the hospital (for added safety), and it is required that you stay for 1 night.

Dr. Spiro will see you before your surgery and mark you before you are taken into the operating room. Once in the operating room, you will meet the OR staff and the Anesthesiologist who will be administering anesthesia. Next thing you know, you will be waking up in recovery with an amazing new abdomen.

Drains are a necessary part of tummy tuck surgery; any time skin is being lifted and repositioned, the body’s response is to fill that newly created space with fluid. Drains are typically in for 6 to 7 days, which allows the tissues to re-adhere and helps prevent unnecessary complications.

Every patient is different. Dr. Spiro repairs both the fascia between and over the rectus muscle and the oblique muscles to contour the abdomen. In some cases, liposuction is recommended 12 weeks after the tummy tuck surgery to remove excess fat and reveal the abs underneath.

Restoring and equalizing tone across abdominal fascia is a unique and creative concept created by Dr. Spiro. Once healed, your “abs” spring back and show. Just look at our website before and afters!

No, tummy tuck surgery is not a weight loss procedure; it is a body contouring procedure. We recommend being within 15 lbs of your goal weight at the time of surgery.

All sutures used in tummy tuck surgery are dissolvable.

In a proper tummy tuck, the abdominal wall repair should start just beneath the breasts and go all the way down to the pubis, which will give the abdomen a flat appearance and prevent any bulging of the upper or lower abdomen.

The abdominal scar should be low enough to be hidden in a bathing suit bottom. The belly button should look like a natural belly button and not a large bullseye. The narrowest part of the abdomen should be at or just above the umbilicus.

Most patients experience modest swelling of the abdomen after surgery, but results are immediately visible, and their abdomens typically look better than they did prior to surgery. Swelling can take 6+ weeks to resolve completely, with the last bits of swelling to resolve usually being between the belly button and pubis. Additionally, early “swelling” is usually gas and bloat-related.

Patients typically need to take off from work for 1-2 weeks after tummy tuck surgery. They can return to work sooner if they are able to work remotely. They can drive after 1 week but cannot perform any physical activity (walking, household chores, etc.) for 4 weeks. They can resume fitness at 6 weeks and isolated core exercises at 12 weeks.

The most common complication of tummy tuck surgery is seroma, or a collection of fluid underneath the skin that develops after the drains are removed. This is usually from overactivity. It may need to be drained with a needle weekly and can last for several weeks.

Full body sculpting using liposuction (Lipo360) can be done at the same time as a limited skin-only tummy tuck. Liposuction of the hips and back is often done in conjunction with a full tummy tuck to sculpt the waist and give patients an hourglass figure. If liposuction of the abdomen is recommended after a full tummy tuck, it is performed 12 weeks after the tummy tuck surgery.

After a tummy tuck, you cannot exercise for 6 weeks, and you cannot perform isolated core exercises for 12 weeks. Abdominal wall fascia (internal repaired tissue) is slow to heal and requires time.

It is normal to feel tight after tummy tuck surgery from the abdominal wall repair. You should always follow your surgeon’s instructions about what you should not do in the immediate post-operative period, but regular movement should not affect your results. Early mobility and frequent ambulation are encouraged and strongly recommended.

Most of the discomfort felt after tummy tuck surgery comes from the abdominal wall repair. Pain is managed with a nerve block after surgery, muscle relaxants, and pain medications. Typically, by day 4, patients’ pain is improved, and they are only taking Tylenol.

Yes! Your belly button is left attached to the abdominal wall, and the loose skin around it is pulled tight, excess skin is removed, and your belly button is brought to the surface, leaving you with a small scar around the belly button. However, Dr. Spiro sometimes uses the “neoumbilicoplasty” technique, where a belly button is made new in a later procedure.

In typical tummy tuck surgeries, your belly button is not removed and does not need to be recreated (see previous question). In “float” abdominoplasties, there are no incisions around the belly button. This is a less common procedure reserved for patients whose loose skin excess is only in the lower abdomen.

After initial consultation, patients can typically book their surgery in 1-3 months depending on surgical availability and length of surgery. Patients are required to get bloodwork and/or an EKG or medical clearance within 4 weeks of surgery. They are then seen for an appointment 2 weeks before surgery to review and finalize the surgical plan.

You should always choose an experienced board-certified plastic surgeon who you feel comfortable with and is able to address all your concerns. Reviewing the surgeon’s before and after photos is also an important part in the decision-making process. Also, speak to former patients who can tell you about their experiences.