Pregnancy After Tummy Tuck
The Issue Of Pregnancy After Tummy Tuck
Pregnancy after tummy tuck doesn't sound like a very good sequence of events. After all, a tummy tuck, or an abdominoplasty, is major plastic surgery on the abdominal area, often performed to take away fat and extra skin that has accumulated as a result of a previous pregnancy, or series of pregnancies. Some women who have had tummy tucks are very concerned as to whether they should have another pregnancy, and are even more concerned it they have indeed become pregnant.
Ability To Get Pregnant Not An Issue - A pregnancy after tummy tuck is of course quite possible. The surgery performed during a tummy tuck has no affect on a woman's ability to get pregnant. The question is whether or not the pregnancy can go the whole term safely, and whether the abdominoplasty has done anything to the body that might put the fetus in danger. Some women have experienced a problem during pregnancy following a tummy tuck, but such cases appear to be rather rare. In most cases, the risks involved to mother or baby appear slight. If anyone will suffer, it will be the mother, as the cosmetic work done by the tummy tuck may become undone by the pregnancy, and the tummy tuck may have to be done all over again.
Pregnancy After Tummy Tuck? – What Was Gained May Again Be Lost - To paraphrase one doctor who advised against getting a tummy tuck too early, "getting pregnant after a tummy tuck is like having all the dents pounded out of your automobile, and then entering it in a demolition derby". Most doctors would advise putting off a tummy tuck until no more pregnancies are planned, and in that way avoiding any need to repeat the process all over again. Most women would prefer to have at most, a single tummy tuck, with two of them the absolute maximum number. It makes sense that if one submits to numerous tummy tucks, at some point the results will not be as hoped, and the flat, tight stomach is gone forever.
A Tummy Tuck Is Major Surgery - Someone who has had a tummy tuck and either contemplates a pregnancy or has become pregnant, should consult with both her obstetrician and with the plastic surgeon who performed the tummy tuck. There is always the possibility of a weakness that has developed somewhere in the abdomen because of the surgery, or if the surgery is fairly recent, healing is not yet complete. Most plastic surgeons will recommend against getting pregnant during the first 12 months following a tummy tuck. It is not uncommon that additional surgical procedures sometimes have to be done following a tummy tuck, if the healing process has been slow or incomplete, or if infection has set in.
While uncommon, situations like this could cause difficulties during a pregnancy. A tummy tuck is after all a major surgery, and the patient may be on the operating table 3 or 4 hours. While sometimes done on an outpatient basis, it is more typical for the patient to spend at least a couple of days in the hospital. The very fact that complete recovery can take several months, makes it clear that some major things have happened in the abdomen, and something that is going to put pressure in this area, such as a pregnancy, should not be taken lightly.
Summary - Pregnancy after tummy tuck? Chances are good, the pregnancy wasn't planned, or if so, wasn't planned to happen immediately after the tummy tuck took place. Assuming this is the case, it's a good idea for the woman to have a fair knowledge of the risks involved in having a tummy tuck in the first place. Not so much the risks involved in becoming pregnant, but risks involved in the tummy tuck healing process. Armed with this knowledge, and taking the initiative to talk to her plastic surgeon and obstetrician once she finds she is pregnant, can go a long ways towards ensuring the pregnancy is safe and successful.