Don't Suck it in, Tummy Tuck it in: Alpha Moms Go From Flab to Fab!

In today's society, does anybody shoulder more responsibilities than the working mother? I'm going to have to bite "no" on that one. Granted, I've never done the mom thing myself, but based on feedback gathered during countless venting sessions over coffee, late-night phone calls, and retail therapy with female friends and relatives, I have nothing but respect and admiration for these modern-day heroines. Successful working moms, or "alpha moms" as they're sometimes called, bust their butts to do it all, and as a result, they often overlook their own upkeep and self-preservation. But thanks to cosmetic treatments like liposuction, breast augmentation, and tummy tucks, working moms can keep doing it all and keep up their formerly rockin' bodies.

Ode to the Alpha Moms

Masters of multitasking, working moms can raise "baby Einsteins" while increasing company profits, keep passion alive in the bedroom and prudence alive in the kitchen, and diligently track their finances while tracking the latest trends in footwear. It almost doesn't seem fair that amidst these unpredictable factors, our bodies won't just do as they're told! And unfortunately, without a bank account to rival Paris Hilton's, or another means to pay personal trainers and nutritionists to remake you, getting back that pre-baby body just can't happen right away with conventional diet and exercise.

For those who can relate to feeling trapped beneath bills and diapers rather than personal chefs and pool boys, you need not despair of wearing a bikini again. Even when stubborn, post-baby tummies seem hopeless, options like tummy tucks can restore your faith. The tummy tuck, one of the most popular surgical procedures today, as well as the mini tummy tuck, are ideal for alpha moms who are feeling a bit flabby.
Telling Tummy Tucks

Tummy tucks, aka Abdominoplasties or Abdominal Lipectomies, remove excess fat and skin around the stomach, tighten muscles, and reposition tissue for a flatter, tighter tummy. For working moms of all shapes and sizes, there are three tummy tuck categories to choose from: the extended, the standard, and the mini. Extended tummy tucks are helpful for moms who are packing multiple car seats in their vehicle and want to tighten the entire abdomen and sides of the torso. Standard tummy tucks effectively tone up the entire belly region, and mini tummy tucks target the lower abdomen, for moms desperately missing their low-rise jeans.

So, alpha moms, and stay-at-home moms too, this tuck's for you. Meet with your local plastic surgeon to get the whole scoop on tummy tucks, including risks, benefits, and options for combined procedures. Tummy tucks are permanent, which is great, but your results can be still be affected by future weight fluctuations and pregnancies; so if your heart's set on three little tykes and you just had your second child, maybe wait until number three arrives before completing your tummy tuck and liposuction package.

Tummy Tuck for Massive Weight Loss Patients

So many patients are undergoing weight loss surgery that one of the fastest growing areas of plastic surgery is removing excess skin.

It happens like this:

For many reasons – inactivity, bad eating habits, genetics – some people gain 100 to 150 and more pounds. Such a huge weight gain stretches the skin of the arm, legs, stomach, chest, neck and face far beyond its ability to rebound.

After weight loss surgery – like via a Lap Band – the result is still “plus sized,” skin hanging in sheets.

That’s a problem because the movement in almost any exercise causes the excess skin to painfully flap and rub against still other sheets of skin. That, in turn, often creates pain, infections and embarrassment.

Lap Band doctors have reported patients with enough loose skin hanging from their stomachs to reach the knees.

Due to massive weight loss (MWL), one of the most popular body shaping procedures to remove that excess skin is the tummy tuck, or abdominoplasty.

Plastic surgeons in Pittsburgh studied 490 MWL patients who had tummy tucks.

A regular tummy tuck just won’t remove enough skin. So the doctors and patients can choose from:

* A circumferential, or belt, abdominoplasty

The scar goes all the way around the body.

* A Fleur-de-lis abdominoplasty

The scar — only on the abdomen — is shaped like an inverted “T”.

Because the scars are longer and a few more complications could exist, the plastic surgeons, working at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, studied the results of 154 patients who had the Fleur-de-lis version.

Results? The doctors found the overall abdominal complication rate of all tummy tuck patients is about the same as the Fleur-de-lis group only.

The usual, expected complications in abdominoplasty include:

* Infections along the incision
* Seroma, a pocket of clear fluid that sometimes develops after surgery.
* The incision breaking open, known in medicine as dehiscence
* Being male is also a risk factor.

Concluded the surgeons:

* Fleur-de-lis can do a better job of removing excess skin on MWL patients who are left with a lot of hanging, loose skin on the upper abdomen.
* Complication rates are about the same as with traditional tummy tucks that use only one incision along the lower abdomen.