Like all structures on the body, things change with age, gravity, and the general wear and tear of life. Nowhere is this more apparent than on the female abdomen. Puberty, pregnancy, and weight change all play potential havoc with the smooth flat abdomen that most women have in youth. Pregnancy is the biggest culprit here, stretching the skin through expansion and contraction and leaving scars from c-sections.
The c-section scar shrinks and pulls in, creating a lower abdominal bulge as the loose skin ends up overhanging the scar. Often stretch marks extend upward from the scar and around the bellybutton as well. Unfortunately, no amount of dieting and exercise will shrink this skin excess and many women can attest to that observation. Abdominoplasty, otherwise known as a tummy tuck, will get rid of this problem but a traditional or full tummy tuck may be a bigger procedure than many women desire to undergo. The long hip to hip scar from a full tummy tuck may not be justified given the smaller amount of skin overhang that exists. In addition, a full tummy tuck requires the belly button to be repositioned at the skin level resulting in a scar around it. Despite my best efforts at making belly button scars, I find most of them to be somewhat visible and not completely normal in appearance.
Another option is a smaller tummy tuck version, which I call the Bikini Line Tummy Tuck. With this approach, the length of the resulting scar is shorter but, more importantly, it stays very low. (therefore the name Bikini Line) The scar is put very low as the amount of skin removed is less than a full tummy tuck and the cutout is done below the level of the belly button. This allows the initial incision of the cut out to be put as low as possible and does not place a lot of tension on the final skin closure which can cause it to be pulled up higher. (as occurs in a full tummy tuck) In addition, no scar results around the belly button since as it is repositioned lower from underneath the skin before the final skin closure.
While not every woman who has overhanging skin and fat on their abdomen is a candidate for the Bikini Line Tummy Tuck, about half of the women that I see are. If the women is not overweight with a small lower abdominal pooch, with or without a c-section scar, she may be an ideal candidate. A scar that fits inside the bikini line but still allows a flat abdomen and a scarless belly button is the result.
Dr Barry Eppley runs a private plastic surgery practice through his hospital-based medspa locations at Clarian North and West Medical Centers in suburban Indianapolis. To learn more about the latest trends in plastic surgery, spa therapies, or skin care, go to his daily blog, http://www.exploreplasticsurgery.com.
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This post is sponsored by bikini line grooming product company Hair Care Down There.
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