As you flick through your magazine seeing yet more bikini-clad celebs showing off their post-baby figures, your hand may inadvertently stray to your own tummy and take hold of the crepe-like skin that sits there. How is it fair, you ask? And reminding yourself that for every mother who looks like the one in the photo, there are hundreds more who look quite the opposite doesn’t help at all. The question ‘will I ever be able to wear a bikini again?’ is asked over and over again in Mr Maisam Fazel’s mummy makeover clinic. Essex-based Mr Fazel reassures his patients that a post-maternity tummy tuck can produce a flatter, smoother and shapelier abdomen, restoring that fast disappearing self-confidence.
What does a tummy tuck involve?
A tummy tuck – or abdominoplasty – is performed under a general anaesthetic, usually takes around two hours and requires at least one night’s stay in hospital afterwards. Your surgeon will make two incisions: one around the belly button and a second longer one across the lower abdomen. The skin is then lifted so that the abdominal wall can be accessed; now your surgeon is able to tighten and reposition muscles that were stretched during pregnancy, and to remove residual fat. You may also benefit from simultaneous liposuction. The skin is then re-draped and a stitched tautly into place and the excess skin removed. A new belly button will be created; a skilled surgeon of Mr Fazel’s experience is able to produce a very natural looking new belly button.
How can I preserve the results?
Mr Maisam Fazel advises that his Essex mummy makeover patients wear a compression garment for up to six weeks after their tummy tuck as this promotes healing and helps to achieve the optimal aesthetic results. Once your recovery is complete, maintaining a steady weight is the best thing you can do to preserve your smooth and no-longer-saggy contours.