Can You Get A Tummy Tuck During C Section
You can get a tummy tuck during c-section, but it’s not as easy as getting one when you’re not pregnant. The reason for this is that your abdomen is already stretched out by the growing baby, which makes the skin more lax and less elastic. For this reason, your doctor may recommend waiting until after you’ve had your baby and given birth before getting a tummy tuck. However, if you want to go ahead with it now, here are some things to keep in mind:
You’ll need to be very careful about how much weight you lose during pregnancy. If you lose too much weight, then your skin will become even looser than normal post-pregnancy and make it easier for it to stretch further than it should during surgery. You’ll also need to make sure that your anesthesiologist knows about any medications or supplements that might affect their ability to administer anesthesia safely (such as blood thinners or stimulants). In this guide, we review the aspects of Can you get a tummy tuck during c section, how to get insurance to pay for tummy tuck after c section, c tuck covered by insurance, How long after birth should you wait to get a tummy tuck?
If everything looks good and there are no complications during surgery then yes – you can definitely have a tummy tuck while pregnant!
Mini Abdominoplasty (Mini Tummy Tuck) with C-section: C Tuck
A tummy tuck or abdominoplasty is abdominal surgery which removes excess skin and fat that may accumulate after pregnancy, or due to obesity or age. The benefits of abdominoplasty are tightening of the abdominal muscles/fascia which may have become stretched out during pregnancy. This procedure can dramatically aid in the reduction of a once prominent abdomen. During cesarean section we perform mini-abdominoplasty (mini-tuck) which tightens the muscle in the lower abdomen and does not alter the position of the belly button.
Candidates must be in good health, have no active diseases or serious, pre-existing medical conditions, and must have realistic expectations of the outcome of the surgery. If you plan to become pregnant or to lose a significant amount of weight, you should discuss these plans with your doctor before surgery. Abdominoplasty is not a treatment for obesity or a substitute for proper diet and exercise.
NOTE: You may not be a candidate for surgery if you smoke, have recently quit smoking, or if you are exposed to second-hand smoke. Primary and secondary smoking decreases blood flow to the body’s tissues. This can result in prolonged wound healing, skin loss, infection, increased scarring, and a number of other complications depending on the kind of procedure performed.
Mini Abdominoplasty with Cesarean delivery: C-Tuck
Mini Tummy Tuck can be performed at the same time of your planned C-section to avoid a second surgery if this is your last pregnancy. This is also called C-Tuck.
Alternatives to Abdominoplasty
During your initial physical examination, we may find that you would be a good candidate for less invasive procedures which would still allow you to meet your appearance goals. Alternative procedures may include a liposuction, or a panniculectomy, a procedure which reduces the hanging skin in the abdominal area.
How is the Procedure Performed?
In a C-Tuck, the surgeon will make an incision from hipbone to hipbone just above the pubic area. This incision is longer than the regular C-section incision. After the incision, the C-section is performed to deliver your baby. After C-section, the surgeon separates the skin from the abdominal wall all the way up to the belly button, then lifts a large skin flap, revealing the vertical muscles in the abdomen. Excess skin and fatty tissue are removed. The abdominal muscles are tightened by pulling them close together and stitching them into their new position. This provides a firmer abdominal wall and narrows the waistline.
Cesarean sections, commonly called C-sections, currently make up 21% of all US births. C-sections are performed for many reasons and are responsible for saving the lives of countless mothers and babies, but they require recovery time and, since they involve the same area of the body, women often wonder how long it will be before it is safe to have tummy tuck surgery to restore their pre-pregnancy body.
In this post, we discuss how long you should wait to have a tummy tuck after your C-section, and why.
The main reason women undergo tummy tuck surgery following their C-section, however, is to regain their sense of identity and confidence. Pregnancy takes a serious toll on a woman’s body and mind, and restoring her to her former (or enhanced) figure can help her feel more like herself again.
What are the benefits of getting a tummy tuck after a C-section?
Because of the incisions made to deliver a baby during a C-section, mothers are left with a large scar running either horizontally or vertically across their lower stomach after giving birth. To address this scar and other physical post-pregnancy changes, many women choose to have tummy tuck surgery, also called abdominoplasty. Following a C-section, tummy tuck surgery can:
- Lessen the C-section scar and scar tissue
- Flatten the tummy by tightening underlying muscles and removing excess fat
- Remove any excess skin and the “skin shelf” that sits above the scar
- Re-create or even enhance the pre-pregnancy figure
- Get rid of abdominal stretch marks
- Change your belly button from an ”outie” to an “innie” or otherwise improve its appearance
- Repair diastasis recti
- Contour the waist
The main reason women undergo tummy tuck surgery following their C-section, however, is to regain their sense of identity and confidence. Pregnancy takes a serious toll on a woman’s body and mind, and restoring her to her former (or enhanced) figure can help her feel more like herself again.
Why do I need to wait to have a C-section after giving birth?
For you and your baby, it’s best to wait at least six to 12 months after giving birth to have your tummy tuck. We know this can be difficult if you want to address your C-section scar, loose skin, and extra weight right away, but many moms appreciate waiting for these reasons:
- Your body is healing and going through changes: You’ll need time to heal after pregnancy. Giving birth is physically, emotionally, and mentally taxing! After pregnancy, your body is coping with many postpartum transitions, such as hormonal rebalancing and breast size changes.
- Bonding is important: The first few months following childbirth are critical for mother-child bonding, and waiting for at least six months after giving birth to have your tummy tuck allows you to enjoy this time with your newborn, uninterrupted by an additional surgical recovery.
- You need time to plan: Initial recovery from a tummy tuck takes about two weeks, and you’ll want to make sure that you have time to organize, prepare, and line up the help you’ll need during that period so you can focus on healing.
- You won’t be able to lift your child during recovery: This is not the time to be lifting your child and caring for him or her on your own. If you’re tempted to do so too soon after your tummy tuck, you might accidentally strain your incisions, delay your healing process, or otherwise compromise your results.
For more suggestions on recovering from plastic surgery, we invite you to read our Mommy Makeover post.
Can I combine my tummy tuck with my C-section?
Most doctors strongly advise against combining a tummy tuck with a C-section, as your uterus is still undergoing dramatic size changes in the weeks after childbirth. Additionally, a different anesthesia type is usually used during a C-section versus a tummy tuck (this is because a C-section plan must consider childbirth safety while tummy tuck anesthesia is purely about your comfort). Lastly, your plastic surgeon will be able to recommend a more ideal tummy tuck plan when they can see how much your abdomen has “bounced back” (or not) after carrying your child. All that said, getting a tummy tuck after a C-section is perfectly safe—you just need to give yourself some time.
Will I need drains after my tummy tuck?
While it is standard for patients to require surgical drains following a tummy tuck, Dr. Claytor offers a drainless, or “no drain,” tummy tuck. When performed properly by a board-certified plastic surgeon, a drainless tummy tuck allows patients to recover faster and with fewer complications.
Here’s how it works: Dr. Claytor is able to maintain your Scarpa’s fascia (deep connective tissue within your abdominal wall) during surgery, which acts as a natural drainage system for your lymphatic system. This means you won’t have to deal with the hassle of emptying fluids from your drains post-surgery, and because your blood supply is improved and tissue damage is reduced, you’ll heal much faster than a traditional tummy tuck.
Traditional tummy tucks remove the lymphatic drainage from the abdomen, necessitating the use of drains. Dr. Claytor’s approach to maintaining your Scarpa’s fascia and lymphatic system is much safer and more natural. His advanced drainless tummy tuck technique has a post-surgical fluid collection rate less than that of patients who use drains, therefore his patients have a much lower rate of developing seromas. Dr. Claytor has been performing drainless tummy tucks with exceptional results for over 10 years in our AAAASF-accredited surgical suite.
Congratulations on your delivery! Now that you are officially recovered from your C-section, you can begin to schedule your tummy tuck procedure. Here’s what you’ll want to do:
- Make sure you’re at a stable weight and are in overall good physical condition. This will ensure you have optimal results from your tummy tuck and will help prevent any potential complications.
- Make sure you aren’t planning on becoming pregnant again. If you do get pregnant after your tummy tuck, you can still safely bear a child, but it will compromise your results. While a secondary tummy tuck can be an option, most women prefer to wait until their family is complete.
“A friend of mine told me I could have a tummy tuck at the same time as my c-section, if this is my last pregnancy,” says MacieLu8* on The Bump community boards. “I asked my doctor about it and he said, ‘Sure, I just did one of those last week.’ I’m so excited!”
There’s plenty of appeal to the idea of having a nip/tuck right in the same breath as a c-section. There’s just one dose of anesthesia, one operating room, and one recovery period for both surgeries. Plus, after nine months of watching the numbers on the scale go up and up, most women are eager to get their pre-baby body back. But is it really a good idea?
What’s a c-tuck anyhow?
Getting a c-tuck means having two surgeries in the same timeframe. Baby is born by c-section; the OB and team whisk baby away, and then a plastic surgeon comes in to remove some abdominal flesh, possibly doing some liposuction in the process.
“The tummy tuck itself takes about 45 minutes to two-and-a-half hours,” says Daniel Roshan, MD, FACOG, FACS, assistant professor at NYU School of Medicine and director of ROSH Maternal-Fetal Medicine in New York City.
Who’s doing it?
“A good candidate for this surgery is someone who’s already obese or who has extra belly flesh that flaps down over the abdomen,” says Roshan. He says he had about three patients get c-tucks last year — all of them were obese.
Larry Fan, MD, board-certified plastic surgeon and founding director of 77 Plastic Surgery in San Francisco, says he performs about 100 tummy tucks each year, and only one or two of those happen at the same time as a c-section. “It’s pretty uncommon,” he says. “The essential idea seems great to a lot of mothers — to be able to do something at the same time as the delivery and that will get you your body back quicker. Typically though, plastic surgeons don’t recommend it, and most patients decide to wait until another time to have the tummy tuck.”RELATED VIDEOMost Popular Baby Names For GirlsIn this video, The Bump will be revealing the top 10 baby names for girls.https://imasdk.googleapis.com/js/core/bridge3.513.0_en.html#goog_17475790680 seconds of 2 minutes, 27 secondsVolume 0%
So what’s the problem?
Before you start making calls to book a c-section-plastic-surgery hybrid, doctors say that c-tucks don’t really live up to the hype. Here’s why:
Less-than-stellar results
Obviously, the point of a tummy tuck is to look your best afterwards, and the experts say that in order for that to happen, the patient should be at her ideal weight and shouldn’t have additional weight gain and a stretched-out uterus.
“Studies have shown that the results aren’t as good they would be when a tummy tuck is done alone,” says Karol A. Gutowski, MD, FACS, board certified plastic surgeon at MAE Plastic Surgery in Northbrook, Illinois and member of the Patient Safety Committee of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons. “During pregnancy, the muscles and skin stretch, so it’s easy to think you’re tightening, when you’re really not. There’s residual abdominal skin, bulging and problems with the belly button. Overall, the aesthetic isn’t as good as it would be if you had a tummy tuck at the right time.” Usually, that’s at least a few months postpregnancy.
Non-ideal scenario
Sure, you’ve got an operating room booked for your c-section, but that doesn’t mean your plastic surgeon will work best there. “There aren’t a lot of cosmetic surgeons who are used to working at 2 a.m.,” says Gutowski, “Imagine this: There’s a screaming kid in the room and an obstetric team concentrating on keeping the baby alive. Would a plastic surgeon do a good job under those conditions?” And remember that the medical community discourages scheduled c-sections for non-medical reasons, so planning ahead for a combo surgery probably isn’t a good idea either.
Potential for complications
“For a woman during pregnancy, there are a lot of things going on with her body. She’s more likely to get blood clots and to retain fluid,” says Gutowski.
how to get insurance to pay for tummy tuck after c section
At most, insurance will only cover part of the procedure cost, and for this to happen the reason for the tummy tuck should be for medical purposes.
A tummy tuck is widely known as a cosmetic procedure that improves the overall look of the abdomen. This happens because the excess skin and fat are removed. The abdominal muscles are also tightened. Both healthy men and women are suitable for this procedure.
A childbirth procedure that is considered if the baby can’t be delivered through the vagina like normal for some reason is called C-section. Instead, the baby is delivered with the help of openings made by the surgeon in the mother’s uterus and abdomen.
Most women might consider undergoing a tummy tuck procedure after their C-section. However, it is important to inform and educate oneself about the procedures before deciding to go through them to save time and money.
Elaboration about what a tummy tuck is will be discussed later on. This includes additional information about what to do before getting a tummy tuck after a C-section and how insurances cover these. If this sounds good to you, then keep reading.
What Is A Tummy Tuck
Abdominoplasty is a surgical procedure wherein the excess fat tissue and skin are removed from the midsection. This improves the contour of the abdomen and flattens it out. The procedure is beneficial for people with loose skin that they can’t get rid of by normal means.
These people can be those who experienced pregnancy or rapid weight loss. This procedure tightens the loose skin giving the abdominal area a tight and snug look while eliminating the extra flab and marks from stretched skin.
Both men and women can go through this procedure. However, this does not get rid of fat, and it is suggested that the patient’s weight is stabilized at a healthy, maintainable level. If getting rid of fat is your main concern, another procedure called liposuction might be worth considering.
A tummy tuck is for those people who are already at a healthy and normal body fat percentage or body mass index (BMI). This procedure will help eliminate the stretch marks and loose skin that no amount of diet or exercise can get rid of.
Just make sure you don’t rapidly gain your weight back, though. This could affect the results of your abdominoplasty negatively. To learn more about how to get insurance to pay for a tummy tuck after C-section, keep reading this article.
How to get insurance to pay for tummy tuck after C-section? Before you consider getting a tummy tuck after giving birth through C-section in the future, there are some things you need to be aware of first so that you won’t regret the decisions that you make.
There are many benefits when undergoing a tummy tuck after a C-section, which are prevalent. The procedure could help the mother get back her old body before getting pregnant and remove scars from the C-section.
It could also help get rid of extra skin sagginess and help tighten the separated abdominal muscles because of pregnancy. But, most importantly, it would help the mother regain the old confidence she had in her body. Learn and understand Diastasis Recti: what is it, and how is it treated?
Despite all of these benefits, there are still things you have to consider and steps to take before going through the surgery. The most important one is to make sure that you have completely healed from the C-section that you went through.
It is recommended to wait around six to twelve months to ensure that you have recovered from the C-section. This will also give your body enough time to stabilize its weight and recover from the stress of childbirth.
You should also think about if you want to have more kids in the future. If you do, it might be better for you to wait until you have kids. Also, make sure there is someone to help you while you recover from the tummy tuck procedure.
Is Tummy Tuck Covered By Insurance
Usually, tummy tuck procedures are not covered by insurance plans. This is mainly because they are done for cosmetic purposes and are not deemed medically necessary.
This changes if you have to do the procedure as treatment for medical conditions that you are experiencing. An example will be if you have an abdominal hernia that requires abdominoplasty as part of its treatment. In this case, the insurance can help you with paying for the cost of the procedure.
So to get insurance to pay for a tummy tuck after your C-section, you have to be aware of what makes it a medical necessity. This is what you would be using as your main reason when filing your claim.
Just make sure to be completely honest about your concerns and don’t make false claims. Note that it is crucial to review your insurance plan and talk to your surgeon about your concerns.
You could even discuss this with your insurance company. But, of course, everything varies depending on your situation, and I hope this helped you. You might be interested in how to start your own life insurance company. If so, good luck!
c tuck covered by insurance
A tummy tuck is a common cosmetic procedure to remove excess skin around the midsection. It is a popular option among women who have had children and both men and women who have lost a large amount of weight, either through diet and exercise or weight loss surgery.
After one of these events, you may be left with excess skin around your middle, even if you have gotten rid of the underlying fat, leaving your midsection looking flabby, no matter how much you exercise. Not only that, but you may also become prone to rashes and skin infections in between the folds of excess skin, which can be quite uncomfortable and even painful.
Covering Tummy Tuck Costs
One of the first questions that many of our patients ask is, “Can a tummy tuck be covered by insurance?” The answer to this question is both yes and no. In many cases, a tummy tuck is merely a cosmetic procedure, and most insurance plans will not cover this. However, if you are experiencing rashes or skin infections, it then becomes a medical need to have the surgery. In this case, you may be able to get some of the costs of your tummy tuck covered by insurance.
Why only some of the costs, you ask? A tummy tuck is performed in two stages. The first stage involves tightening the underlying abdominal muscles to create a smooth contour. The second phase involves removing the excess skin so that the remaining skin can be tightened over your middle. For medically necessary procedures, insurance will cover the second phase of the procedure, as removing the excess skin is required to eliminate the risk of rashes and infections.
After your insurance has covered the skin-tightening portion of the procedure, you’ll still be responsible for paying for the muscle-tightening phase. Here at the Offices of Dr. Michael J. Streitmann, we want you to be able to have the procedures you desire to achieve your dream body. That is why we offer flexible payment plans to help you fit tummy tuck surgery into your budget. We’ll work with you to come up with a payment plan that best meets your needs.
Before we perform any procedure, we’ll provide you with a free consultation to review the details of the tummy tuck procedure, recovery, and ongoing care processes. We’ll take the time to answer all of your questions so that you can feel completely comfortable trusting us for your tummy tuck surgery. We have two offices in the Houston area to serve you. Call (713)667-4600 to get in touch with us today and schedule your free consultation appointment.
How Long After Pregnancy Should You Wait To Get a Tummy Tuck?
After having children, many moms are ready to regain their pre-pregnancy bodies by scheduling a tummy tuck at our Baton Rouge, Louisiana, surgery center. For many women who exercise regularly and watch what they eat, the abdominal skin stretched by pregnancy won’t go away without surgery. It can be difficult to be patient, which is why women who have recently had a baby often want to know how long they have to wait until getting a tummy tuck.
There are a few different factors to consider when answering that question, but it’s a good idea to understand the tummy tuck procedure itself, especially for patients who have young children at home.
Abdominoplasty (tummy tuck) is a procedure that can be done for anyone who has excess stomach skin after weight loss. For women who have had children, however, it may also include repairing abdominal muscles that separate during pregnancy. This condition, called diastasis recti, creates the “belly pooch” that some women have after pregnancy. I also perform liposuction during a tummy tuck to remove excess fat and create smooth, aesthetically pleasing contours. Below, you can see one of our patients before and after a tummy tuck:
So, how long after having a baby should a woman wait to have a tummy tuck? In general, I recommend waiting at least 3 months post-labor before undergoing abdominoplasty. Your body needs time to fully heal after giving birth. Other factors to consider include:
Tummy tuck patients with young children at home need to arrange for child care during the recovery, especially during the first 10 days to 2 weeks. That’s because patients need to avoid lifting anything—including small children—to ensure proper healing. Even though some patients can return to their normal activities after about 2 weeks, it will be several more weeks before they should resume strenuous activities. Healthline offers additional information and a tummy tuck timeline on its site.
Each person is different, and the timing of your surgery is a highly personal choice. If you’re considering a tummy tuck, I recommend scheduling a one-on-one consultation to discuss your goals and specific situation.