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Dr. Arthur Swift, Plastic Surgeon
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"Is the post-op recovery from a tummy tuck comparable to the recovery from a c-section?"
I've had two C-Sections, and have been rigorously exercising (4-5 times/wk) for about 8 months. I have also been watching my diet and feel my intake
coincides with a proper fat intake.
The realization is, that I am going to have to submit to surgery if I want to get rid of my stretched out, flabby middle. I have no waist, and my lower abdomen
hangs irritatingly over my incision.
My question is, is the tummy tuck surgery post-op recovery comparable to the recovery from a c-section? I read the personal accounts on the site, and wonder
if some of the post-op pain is related to what I felt.
Also, I am wondering about the "tightening of the abdominal muscles" portion of the surgery. Even if I have been working out (I am a serious Karate student)
will this part of the procedure still need to occur?
 First of all, according to the majority of patients who have undergone tummy tucks, the pain of this surgery is nowhere near the pain of a C-section, and understandably
so......there is no cutting through muscle, which is the most painful part of the C-section procedure. Tummy tucks (abdominoplasties) typically require excision of the apron
of skin and fat, along with (in most cases) some liposuction. The surgery is usually done through a "bikini" incision that spans the pubic region from hip bone to hip bone.
This incision location is also one of the less painful in abdominal surgery. The lifting or "undermining" of the abdominal skin cuts small sensory nerves which in itself
provides a type of anesthesia after the surgery. Actually, it can take up to one year for the sensation in the lower abdominal skin to return. Tylenol with codeine is usually
ample pain medication, and is probably only necessary for 2 or 3 days.
As far as whether or not muscle tightening is necessary at the time of surgery, that is something that has to be assessed by the plastic surgeon before surgery. Exercising
is great because it keeps the muscles toned and defined, however if the abdominal muscles have been stretched or "splayed apart" because of pregnancies, then surgical
repair is often necessary. It is usually the tissue running down the middle of the belly between the two washboard muscles that has been stretched, and there is no way to
tighten this area with exercise. In fact, overly zealous abdominal crunches might acutally make this stretched area between the muscles even more apparent (the so-called
diastasis recti). I usually incorporate muscle tightening as part of my abdominoplasty procedure because it allows for a flatter tummy as well as some pinching in at the
waist. Here are some lateral photos (side views) of a tummy tuck patient.
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