Tummy Tuck Improves Figure after Childbearing in Raleigh, NC*

This 37 year old mother of 4 had significant changes to her abdomen and flanks after bearing 4 children. She was trying to get back into shape through diet and exercise but couldn't really see much difference . She wanted improvement in her abdomen , flanks and buttocks. She underwent full abdominoplasty with liposuction of the flanks and some fat grafting to her buttocks. Her shape change was pretty dramatic . She was quite pleased with her new look. Tummy tuck and liposuction is not a cost effective means to lose weight . Dr Lyle tells his patients that they are better off spending their money on physician directed diet programs and /or gym memberships to attempt to get to a healthy weight. There is no magic number but calculating BMI is helpful to arrive at a reasonable target weight. Surgery is reserved for shaping and elimination of excess skin and stubborn fat deposits that are not effectively improved with diet and exercise. Although this patient did lose approximately 6 or 7 pounds of tissue and fat during the surgery- it was more apparent because it was taken from areas that really showed changes. Continued efforts to lose or maintain weight after surgery results in the optimal results. After 2-3 weeks post op, patients are encouraged to start walking and return to the gym or an exercise program within 3 months.