Abdominoplasty or most commonly known as tummy-tuck in the Philippines is a cosmetic surgery that tightens abdominal muscles and gets rid of excess skin and fat. Both men and women could benefit in this type of surgery especially those people who experienced laxity in the underlying muscles in the abdomen area.
Abdominoplasty is a relatively a famous and successful procedure but the same as other type of surgery, tummy-tuck is not without its risks and complications. If you are a candidate for abdominoplasty, take time to read on its possible after effects so that you could evaluate whether your goal is worthy over all the possible risks.
You could possibly have a bad reaction to the anesthetic, something that can happen anytime anesthesia is used. General anesthesia is considered to be more risky than local or regional anesthesia, but all kinds of anesthetic could bring on a negative reaction.
Excessive bleeding is also possible though it is extremely rare. If this happens, you might need a second surgery to drain and control the collected blood. You could also develop hematoma or blood clot and seroma or a pocket of water fluid. Either hematoma or seroma could cause discomfort and excessive scar tissue.
Although extremely rare, necrosis or death of skin, fat or muscle tissue is another risk if you have poor body circulation or you did not stop smoking few weeks prior to your surgery. You could also lose skin sensitivity though it is usually temporary. There is also a risk of excessive scarring of the skin or internally.
All patients recovering from an abdominoplasty will heal at his or her own pace. Younger patients usually heal faster than older ones. Patients who continue to experience severe discomfort after six weeks are considered to be healing slowly. There are different factors that affect the healing process such as smoking and the presence of infection.
Failure of the patient to take care of the wounds properly during the recovery process could cause infection. Following the directions of your surgeon on when to change bandage, when to clean the wounds and how to keep it clean could prevent you from having an infection. Infections, however, are highly treatable using drainage and antibiotics. If you experience fever, chills, sweating and if the area around the incision produced liquid that has a greenish tint you should contact your doctor immediately.
Qualified surgeons will take every precaution to prevent risk, infection and possible complication during the surgical procedure or even in the post-operative period. Before the operation, your surgeon will discuss all possible risks and ways on how to prevent such occurrences. The key to a lesser degree of risk and complication depends upon the cooperation between you and your surgeon.
