The Avelar Tummy Tuck

A relatively new procedure that we have performed is the Avelar tummy tuck. This form of tummy tuck provides a significant decrease in discomfort and/or complications experienced after the procedure. The incision used is similar to an ordinary tummy tuck, but in this new technique, sewing together the muscles is usually not done or not done as aggressively. First we use liposuction to thin the area prior to the removal of the skin, so as to loosen the skin, rather than just making a large hole between the muscle and fat and pulling the skin above the navel down. By using liposuction before the procedure, attachments to the skin are largely left intact, so blood circulation is in theory preserved, despite the removal of a large amount of skin from the lower abdomen.

An alternative to the Avelar tummy tuck is a simple dermolipectomy. This is a fancy name for removal of much of the skin of the lower abdomen without interference with the belly button area or the upper abdomen. These areas can then be reshaped with liposuction. The Avelar tummy tuck, on the other hand, does involve manufacture of a new belly button and stretching the upper abdominal skin all the way down to the upper groin area.

Latina patients benefit greatly from these procedures, because their skin often tends to be thinner, which can result in a less-than-perfect skin recovery after childbirth, with some stretch marks and looseness. We prefer to recommend the more conservative or less invasive procedures rather than more invasive, more risky, and more costly procedures, which can also involve more scarring. For example, we usually recommend the dermolipectomy more than the Avelar tummy tuck, and recommend the Avelar tummy tuck more than a normal tummy tuck. The risks, the scars, the cost, and the other problems are just not worth the extra investment of time and the more difficult recovery for these more complicated procedures, even if they are considered the “traditional approach.”

In fact, Dr. Yoho often recommends simple liposuction, and with his technique, the “no scalpel tummy tuck,” in many cases no skin removal is necessary at all, and the skin will shrink to fit. Sometimes a little loose skin is left above the belly button, but this is a small price to pay for not having a scar that extends from hip to hip and avoiding a very difficult recovery of perhaps a month or more, the pain and aggravation of more anesthesia and more surgery, and a higher price.

_______________________

Robert Yoho, M.D.