Abdominoplasty
"I am 40 years old and have had three children. My body shape has changed and my tummy sticks out like I am 3 months pregnant. Will Liposuction help?"
This information is of a general nature only and is for public information and education. Your individual problem needs to be assessed by your family doctor who will advise you on appropriate further steps.
This is a common complaint in women who have had a few pregnancies. The problem is worse when standing up, and a source of constant irritation and embarrassment. When examined, most of these women have a reasonable but not excessive amount of fat on the abdominal wall. The abdomen (tummy) sticks out, especially in the lower half (below the navel), due to stretching and separation of the large muscles in the front of the abdomen. These are a pair of very strong muscles, running on either side of the middle of the abdomen, from the lower chest wall to the upper part of the front of the hip bone. Each of these muscles is covered by a thick layer or fascia, which meet in the middle.
During pregnancy, the growth of the baby causes an increase in abdominal size, and resultant stretch of muscles and their coverings. The most stretch is in the midline and often causes a separation of the attachments at the midline. After pregnancy, the muscle is able to shrink back to its previous size and shape. However, the muscle covering has little elasticity in it and hence stays stretched and separated.
A good test is to lie on your back, with knees bent, and to feel the midline of your abdomen below the navel. You will note that you can press deep into your abdomen, and actually feel the pulsation of the aorta, the large artery in the midline. When on your back, there is no bulge but the unsightly bulge is seen when you stand, a result of gravity and the midline stretch.
This problem is treated by an operation called a "Radical Abdominoplasty". In this procedure, the stretched and separated muscles of the abdominal wall are repositioned, the skin and fat below the "belly button" is removed and the skin and fat above the "belly button" is used to cover the entire abdominal wall. This improves the tone and appearance of the abdomen, by reversing the pregnancy induced stretch of the abdominal wall. A bonus is the reduction of more than 50% of the stretch marks on the abdomen.
