Two of Miami's most popular plastic surgery procedures are the Brazilian butt lift (BBL) and the tummy tuck. Many women opt to get a BBL to increase the volume of their buttocks while slimming down and flattening their waist. The result is a dramatically curvy figure. The tummy tuck, on the other hand, restructures the abdominal wall and removes the excess skin and fat that cause bulging stomachs, love handles, skin rolls, and so on. The tummy tuck is the operation of choice for women who have just finished their pregnancies, whose abdominal muscles may have separated, and who were left with excess skin and fat. Some women even include breast augmentation as part of their tummy tucks, a mixture of procedures more commonly known as the mommy makeover.
WHAT IS AN HOURGLASS TUMMY TUCK?
The hourglass tummy tuck, broadly speaking, is a surgical procedure that combines elements of the BBL with the tummy tuck. The procedure involves:
Fat grafting: as in the BBL, fat is precisely extracted from the waist, hips, back, or thighs. The extracted fat is then transferred, purified, and reinjected into the buttocks according to the specifications you have agreed to with the surgeon. Elements of liposculpture may be included in the procedure, and your surgeon may recommend fine fat extraction in regions of the back to eliminate love handles.
Tummy tuck: This is the part of the procedure that removes excess skin and fat. It also restructures the abdominal wall muscles. This latter aspect is particularly important for women who are undergoing the procedure after their pregnancy.
The two procedures are combined in the hourglass tummy tuck because, even though the regular tummy tuck removes flabby skin, it doesn't necessarily recontour the body or add curves. Liposculpting procedures and fat grafts were implemented to do precisely just that.
What Is Recovery Like?
The recovery for the hourglass tummy tuck should largely follow that of the regular tummy tuck. However, you should keep in mind that because the hourglass procedure is more involved, the recovery is likely to demand more of you.
In a regular tummy tuck, the procedure mostly affects the front of your body. Recovery, therefore, involves resting and sleeping on your backside.
In the hourglass tummy tuck, you will have been operated on both the back and the front of your body. The front will, of course, be sensitive because of the tummy tuck, and the back because of the fat graft. As a result, you should take extra precautions as you recover. You should be mindful while sleeping and lie on your side. It might even be a good idea to find cushioning that helps keep you in that sideways position at night.
Follow your surgeon's recovery instructions. Your surgeon is the best-equipped person to tell you what you should do to maximize the success of your procedure. Again, because of the extensive nature of the tummy tuck and the fact that it addresses the front and back of your body, you should make sure that you will be ready to be off work and off your feet for a while, especially for the week following surgery.
More importantly, make sure that the surgeon you choose feels comfortable performing the surgery. Fat grafts and tummy tucks are generally safe, though they do require greater expertise from the surgeon. Neither of these procedures should be performed by surgeons without enough experience. Because the hourglass tummy tuck combines them, you should feel very comfortable that your surgeon is well-practiced in both procedures.
At Avana, we have some of the best experts performing this combination of procedures with a high satisfaction rate. Never hesitate to get in contact with a surgeon to voice your concerns and receive personalized advice regarding the procedures that would best meet your aesthetic goals.
