Plastic Surgeon Daniel Ronel, M.D.

An abdominoplasty, or tummy tuck, involves tightening the abdominal wall muscles (the rectus abdominis, or the "six pack" muscle) and then removing the excess skin and fat. I often tighten extra muscles (the external obliques) in order to narrow the waist as much as possible. I like to use the anesthetic pump to help decrease the need for postoperative pain medicine, and platelet gel to decrease postoperative bruising and swelling. The modern abdominoplasty is less invasive and does not cut through as many blood vessels and nerves as the traditional one. The incision is low, in the bikini line, and ends in front of the hips. I am often asked to extend the incision over the hips in order to remove the extra skin and fat there.