The abdominal wall (inner abdomen) is a structure formed by interconnected muscle groups and membranes, protecting the internal organs by wrapping them like a cylinder. At the same time, the movements of these muscle groups control the bending and rotation of the trunk to different sides. This cylindrical front part of the abdominal wall is formed by a pair of muscles that start quickly below the breasts and extend side by side all the way to the groin. These muscles are called ‘Rectus Abdominis Muscles’. The rectus muscles provide correct forward movement of the trunk (shuttle movement) and the weakest part of the entire abdominal wall is the thick membrane that runs along the length of the two rectus muscles.
What are the Deformations Caused by Pregnancy in the Abdominal Wall?
The abdomen grows properly, especially in the last months of the gestation period. The abdominal wall expands in women who gain excess weight or whose abdominal structure is not strong enough. At the same time, the membrane holding the rectus muscles in the middle ruptures and the muscles move away from each other in the form of a gap in the middle. This condition is called ‘Rectus Diastasis’.
Features after recurrent pregnancies; Between the rectus muscles that diverge from each other, the stomach moves forward and expands. The stomach, which increases in volume, delays the formation of the feeling of fullness, and after eating more food, the stomach becomes more prominent. This situation occurs as both sagging of the abdomen and obesity (obesity) in women. The lubrication of the abdominal region and skin sagging due to enlargement accompany the picture. As a result; The enlargement of the stomach characterized by swelling above the navel and sagging skin under the navel appear as a permanent problem.
What are the Problems Caused by Abdominal Sagging?
The most valuable problem is unavoidable weight gain and obesity. These patients feel thinner and fitter in the morning due to the emptying of stomach contents during the night. However, with the first meal, the forward movement of the stomach is triggered and sagging of the abdomen occurs.
While the person looks older and out of shape due to sagging of the abdomen, the mobility of the person decreases in advanced weight gains.
The sagging of the abdomen results in a woman’s disliking of her own body, a decrease in her sense of self-confidence, her inability to fit her clothes on, and her avoiding the social environment in order to avoid attracting attention to her body.
What is Tummy Tuck (Abdominoplasty)?
The surgery that provides both the collection of the sagging abdominal skin and the recovery of the expanding and separating abdominal muscles is called ‘Abdominoplasty’. In this surgery; It is similar to the cesarean section, but by making a longer incision, the deformed abdominal muscles are reached first. These muscles are stitched together along their length, and the separation in the middle is removed. This process is called ‘Rectus Plication’.
What are the Types of Abdominoplasty?
Tummy tuck surgery can be performed in 2 small and exactly 2 types. What determines the type of surgery to be performed is the degree of relaxation in the rectus muscles and the extent of sagging in the skin.
In Full Abdominoplasty; By separating the belly button, the dissociated muscles are brought closer to each other from top to bottom and the underlying tissue is completely removed from the belly button.
In Mini Abdominoplasty, the process is applied only to the part below the navel, the navel does not leave its place.