GLOW Blog

When we imagine a fit, attractive figure, most picture a flat belly. Indeed, a taut midsection looks great on men and women of all shapes and sizes. A flat tummy can make you look curvy in the right places and overall leaner.

The stomach is often the first place that suffers when we put on excess weight, and also the last place to lose the fat when we diet and exercise. It also tends to get bloated when we eat or drink the wrong things, and “sucking it in” only does so much.

The following is an excerpt from our new e-book, A patient’s guide to tummy tuck surgery.

“Mini” tummy tucks and liposuction

When you’re thinking about a tummy tuck, you probably want to know how it will fit into your life and if you will be able to get back to the things you enjoy as quickly as possible. Tummy tucks can be performed using different methods, but a GLOW tummy tuck involves the use of local anesthetic to get you back on your feet sooner and to avoid some of the common complications of general anesthesia. Your surgeon will also make the smallest incision possible to give you the desired result.

The following is an excerpt from our new e-book, A patient’s guide to tummy tuck surgery.

What are the risks of a tummy tuck?

Tummy tuck surgery is generally very safe when it’s performed by a qualified surgeon. However, any surgical procedure has risks that should be discussed with your surgeon before you make your decision. Some of the possible complications may include infection, bleeding, fluid retention, poor healing of the incision, pain, and scarring.

The following is an excerpt from our new e-book, A patient’s guide to tummy tuck surgery.

Getting back to daily life

The time it takes to get back to your daily activities will vary depending on your age and personal lifestyle. You will need to plan on taking about one to two weeks off work, and possibly more if you have a strenuous job that requires a lot of activity or lifting. In general, if you’ve had muscle tightening done during your tummy tuck, you may need about four weeks of restricted activity to give your body time to heal (but you may drive and do light activity if your surgeon gives you the okay).

The following is an excerpt from our new e-book, A patient’s guide to tummy tuck surgery.

Of all areas of the body, the abdomen may be the most difficult to sculpt. You may be able to slim down with a healthy lifestyle of diet and exercise, only to find that your abdominal area just doesn’t look how you want. This can be frustrating and exhausting, and make you feel like your hard work just isn’t paying off.

Thinking about a tummy tuck, but unsure of what exactly you’d be signing up for? You’re not alone. Here are 5 of the most FAQs (and answers) to help you better understand how good of a fit a tummy tuck may or may not be in your life:

As August becomes September, and the Halloween candies (already!) start taking over entire aisles at the grocery store, it becomes more and more clear: summer is winding down. Of course, that timeline differs depending on where you live. Here in Northern California, we’ve still got plenty of upper 70s, lower 80s to look forward to. That also means it’s not too late to take advantage of the summertime and commit (or recommit) to an exercise routine. No matter how you opt to strive for a better body, a trimmer physique, or simply to lose a few pounds, diet and exercise should be a part of it. However, there is the possibility that after autumn rolls into the Bay Area, after your exercise has led to a lower number on the bathroom scale… there might still be some unwelcome signs of that now absent excess fat on  your body. Then what?

The question: Who here would like to have a flatter stomach?

Ask that question to anyone. Any group. Anywhere. It doesn’t matter if you’re at a random intersection with a group of pedestrians waiting to cross the street, at a mall with holiday shoppers, at the airport, or somewhere else entirely.

Everyone wants a flatter tummy. Diet and exercise, as is always the case, can help get you just that. Sometimes, though, a cosmetic procedure makes good sense, too. Should you opt to strive for that flatter tummy with the help of your cosmetic surgeon, how do you choose between a tummy tuck and liposuction?