Plastic surgery to tighten and repair abdominal muscles and remove extra abdominal fat and skin is called abdominoplasty, or more commonly, a tummy tuck. The surgery is often done with general anesthesia, but it can be done with a local anesthetic and sedation, although there may be some discomfort during the procedure.
A tummy tuck begins with an incision, made in the shape of a smile and usually reaching from hip to hip. The center of the incision is generally just above the pubic area. Another incision may be made around the belly button to free it from the surrounding abdominal tissue.
The skin is pulled away from the abdominal wall to expose the underlying muscles. These rectus muscles are the muscles that are often stretched and pulled apart during pregnancy. During the tummy tuck the rectus muscles are repositioned and sutured into place, which tightens the muscles and narrows the waistline.
After the muscles have been sutured, the skin is draped back over the muscles, and excess skin is removed. The belly button is then pulled through an incision made in the skin and sutured into place. The main incision is then closed with stitches or staples.
Pain and swelling after surgery are common. The pain is controlled with narcotic pain relievers for the first few days. After three or four days, non-narcotic pain relievers are used to relieve discomfort. Light to moderate exercise can be done after four weeks, and all regular activities can be resumed six to eight weeks following tummy tuck surgery.
A tummy tuck will not remove stretch marks, unless they are on the extra skin that will be removed. The scarring from a tummy tuck will appear to get worse in the first three to six months, and it may take as long as nine months before the scar begins to lighten in color and flatten out.
A new procedure that might help with just stretch mark being offereed by a clinic providing cosmetic surgery and they use a treatment called dermaroller which are fine needs rolled over the skin to help your body heal the skin itself.