How do you know if you just need liposuction of the abdomen or a tummy tuck? Liposuction will only remove excess fat and will not tighten any muscle or remove skin. A candidate for a tummy tuck would
be someone whose abdominal muscle and skin are so stretched that it will not return to what would be
considered 'normal'. This excess skin and loose muscle does not respond to exercise and is
uncomfortable for the patient.

  Depending on the amount of muscle and tissue needing repair, your surgeon might recommend a
partial or 'mini' abdominoplasty, or full abdominoplasty. This surgery involves an incision being made
from hipbone to hipbone just above the pubic area so the scar should be hidden in a bikini. The navel
is often removed from the tissue to be placed in a higher position. Next the muscles are pulled tighter
together and stitched, and extra skin removed. Liposuction is sometimes performed to reduce any fat.
A hole is cut for the navel to be placed, then all incisions are closed. With a partial abdominoplasty the
incision is shorter and the navel may or may not be moved

  This surgery is usually performed under general anesthetic and can take from one to five hours. After the
surgery you will be in dressings or a compression garment and might find it difficult to stand up straight. You are very likely to feel some pain so will be given pain medication to make you more comfortable.

  Surface stitches will be removed up to 7 days later, the deeper sutures will come out up to three weeks
later. You will swollen for quite a few weeks and will require 2 weeks off work, sometimes more. You
will notice the results immediately, but the full results can take up to a year.

   For those males that have the condition from obesity or steroid use, loosing weight and stopping
steroid use might correct the condition. For all others surgery is an option, where a plastic surgeon would remove the glandular tissue and/or perform liposuction (depending if your condition involves excess glandular tissue, excess fat or both), and remove excess skin in more extreme cases. The incisions
made are small and usually at the edge of the areola so the scar will be neatly hidden. After your surgery
the chest will be wrapped for compression and you will be asked to rest for a week or so. You will be swollen for weeks, even months and might question if the surgery made any improvement. Even though
your results might be noticable immediately, the full results might not be seen for up to a year.

   The best candidates for any body contouring procedures are healthy men and women, around their
ideal weight with just the problem area(s). Those that are overweight may be asked to loose weight
before surgery and if you smoke you might be told to give up before surgery as it can interfere with healing.
Having good skin elasticity also helps, so results will vary. After plastic surgery you will need to take time
off work but you should also try to move around regularly to keep your circulation going. Your surgeon
might allow you to lightly exercise after a few weeks but will ask you not to resume strenuous activity for at
least 4 weeks. A plastic surgeon will go through all these factors with you at a consultations.

Consumer Guide to Plastic Surgery provides additional information about cosmetic plastic surgery, including topics such as breast augmentation with breast implants in Toronto.