4 Surprising Health Benefits of a Tummy Tuck

A tummy tuck is a surgical procedure that can flatten and firm your abdominal muscles while also providing certain health benefits. After the surgery removes excess abdominal skin and fat and restores weakened stomach muscles, you will begin to feel your overall health improve. Here are four surprising health benefits of a tummy tuck.

1. Strengthens Your Core

A tummy tuck strengthens your core—including the muscles in and around your abdomen. A strong core supports your spine, and some benefits that you will notice after your tummy tuck include:

• Improved posture – Stand straighter, breathe deeper, and relieve pressure on your hips and knees
• Better balance and stability – Move in any direction or stand in place and keep your balance
• Back pain relief – Sit, stand, bend, lift, and perform everyday work or home tasks with less stiffness and soreness in your back
• Become more active – Participate in healthy physical activities and sports that require flexibility and core power

2.   Reduces Urinary Incontinence

Stress urinary incontinence (SUI) is a bladder-control issue that causes involuntary urine leakage if you cough, sneeze, laugh, or even do something less forceful. A tummy tuck will do the following:

• Lift tissue from the pelvic area
• Suspend the urethra
• Slightly obstruct your bladder to minimize urine leakage

A March 2018 article published in the journal Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery notes that patients with urinary incontinence had sustained improvement in symptoms after a tummy tuck (abdominoplasty).

3.   Corrects Ventral Hernia

A ventral hernia is a visible bulge beneath your skin in your abdominal area. If your abdominal muscles are weak from Cesarean delivery (C-section) or immense weight loss, developing a ventral hernia is a risk. The hernia can form if intestinal or abdominal tissue penetrates the weakened abdominal wall. In many, cases even without a hernia, there is a separation between the abdominal muscles (rectus diastasis) which causes protrusion of the abdomen.  This is corrected at the time of a tummy tuck, restoring a flatter stomach.

After hernia correction surgery, a tummy tuck helps in several ways:

• Strengthens weak abdominal muscles
• Relieves skin pressure from the hernia
• Prevents recurring ventral hernias

You can bend, stretch, or wear a belt again without feeling pain or discomfort from a ventral hernia.

4.   Resolves the Complications of Excess Skin

A tummy tuck removes loose, excess skin that can interfere with your mobility and ability to exercise—particularly after significant weight loss. Exercise is essential to maintaining your body profile after surgery.

Mobility and Exercise

Despite your efforts to tighten it with exercise, excess skin can linger after you give birth or lose a lot of weight. A tummy tuck will improve your mobility in several ways:

• Alleviate the physical discomfort of hanging skin
• Increase the types of exercises you can perform
• Make it easier to live an active life

Healthier Skin

Loose skin can quickly become irritated or infected. A tummy tuck is healthy for your abdominal skin in several ways, including:

• Eliminates hard-to-clean folds of skin
• Alleviates chafing and rashes
• Prevents infections

Request a Tummy Tuck Consultation

If you would like to know if you are a candidate for a tummy tuck and the benefits it offers, request a consultation with a board-certified plastic surgeon. If you live in the New Jersey area, contact Contemporary Plastic Surgery for an appointment with Dr. Robert A. Herbstman. Otherwise, visit the website of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons to find a surgeon near you.