Tummy tuck abroad facts:
- All-inclusive price – +€1825 / +£1,572 (if combined with liposuction); tummy tuck alone – from €2675 / £2,304;
- Minimum required stay in Lithuania – 5 days; hospitalization – 1 night included;
- Performed under general anaesthesia; lasts – 2 to 3 hours.
The procedure
Tummy tuck is performed through an incision across the lower abdomen. An incision is made around the belly button, leaving it attached to the abdominal wall. The skin and fat are then elevated from the abdominal wall and muscles to the level of the rib cage. Surgeons may remove some fat from the flanks with supplemental liposuction and, if needed, tighten the abdominal muscles by suturing them together in the mid-line, as well as shortening them. Then the excess skin and fat is removed at the upper line of the incision. The belly button is then brought out through a small incision and sutured to the new skin in its normal position. Drains are left beneath the skin for several days following the surgery.
Illustration of tummy tuck
- A typical patient will have extra skin and/or fat in the abdominal area. The length of the scar varies, depending on how much extra skin is present. It is usually placed below the bikini line;
- If the muscles underneath have stretched because of pregnancy, they are brought together;
- The extra skin is pulled down like an apron and removed;
- The belly button (when a full tummy tuck is performed) is brought through the skin to its normal location. The scars are hidden in the bathing suit line but they do exist. Because of tension scars can stretch with time. These can be improved through a “scar revision” about one year after the surgery.
After tummy tuck abroad
Patients should restrict their activities for two to three weeks, and exertion is prohibited for four weeks. The stitches generally are removed on the last day of your medical tourism trip. It may be months before all the swelling has completely faded. Patients often experience reduced sensation in the abdominal area and the upper thighs. This generally subsides in the months after the procedure. The scars around the belly button and the lower part of the abdomen will gradually fade and become less visible.
Potential complications include: bleeding, infection and healing problems. Some lack of symmetry also may occur. Because the skin is undermined, there is a slight risk of inadequate circulation and loss of some skin. This risk is greater in smokers and in patients with specific kinds of old scars. Patients should quit smoking and stop taking aspiring 14 days prior to the surgery.