Abdominoplasty - Tummy Tuck

Not sure about whether to have your tummy tuck at a hospital or at a private clinic? The hospital is often the chosen option in case of a medical need, such as when a tummy tuck is necessary because of serious infections in skin creases, walking difficulty, or disfigurement in the abdominal wall. In such cases, a tummy tuck may be covered by your health insurance.

In most cases, however, people have a tummy tuck for aesthetic reasons. When the objective is a cosmetic improvement, the procedure is generally not covered (except with certain additional health insurance packages). In that case, you can go to a private clinic such as Wellness Kliniek.

If you have a lot of excess fat around your waist but are otherwise in good mental and physical health, you are a candidate for abdominoplasty. Common reasons for having a tummy tuck:

• Abdominoplasty after pregnancy: a tummy tuck is a great option for women who have been left with stretched skin and loose muscles due to childbirth.
• Abdominoplasty after weight loss: when losing weight, the skin does generally not return to its original tautness. That is where abdominoplasty comes in.
• Abdominoplasty in relation to old age: the ageing process is unstoppable and leads to loose and thickened skin around the abdomen. This can also be a reason to have a tummy tuck.

However, if you are planning on losing quite a bit of weight, it is better to put off having a tummy tuck for now. If you are overweight, it is better to lose weight first. And with a very high BMI (often higher than 34), a tummy tuck is not (yet) a good option for you because it increases the risk of infections and bleeding after the surgery. If you are planning on getting pregnant, it is also best to wait.

The benefits and possibilities of a tummy tuck differ from person to person. We advise you to go over it in detail with your doctors at Wellness Kliniek. You can book a no-obligation consultation for that.

Abdominal muscles can be corrected subcutaneously without removing any skin. The surgeon will then use extremely thin instruments below the skin through an incision in the pubic area. This way, the surgeon can tighten up weakened muscles below the skin. It will leave only minor scars and deliver great-looking abs.

The skin normally hangs off the lower abdomen or the whole abdomen. Sometimes there are also stretch marks visible. If so, it is better to also remove some excess skin to get the best possible result.

What kind of abdominoplasty would be the best option in your case depends entirely on your body. Fortunately, you won’t have to make this choice all on your own, as your surgeon will go over your options with you in great detail during a consultation.

An abdominal wall correction procedure will normally take around two hours and is done under general anaesthesia. After the surgery, an abdominal dressing will be applied and you will spend the night at Wellness Kliniek.

Tummy tucks or abdominal wall corrections deliver stunning results in our patients. In most cases, these results last for a long time. However, getting pregnant or gaining weight after a tummy tuck may ultimately alter the result.

If your body meets the conditional guidelines, your expectations are realistic, you understand that there will be permanent (albeit limited) scarring, and that you will have to take some time to recover after the surgery, abdominoplasty is the perfect solution to your problem.

It takes between two to six weeks to recover after a tummy tuck. During this recovery period, it is important that you refrain from any heavy physical work. Exercise should also be avoided in the early stages after a tummy tuck.

Does your abdomen feel numb or too tight after a tummy tuck? This, too, will diminish after around six weeks. Apart from that, you may also experience bruises and swollen skin. This bruising sensation normally goes away after a few days.

Guidelines for post-abdominoplasty activities

The guidelines with respect to (heavy) physical work and exercise depend on what procedure you had and will be discussed with you in detail beforehand by the consulting physician. Here at Wellness Kliniek, we are also highly committed to providing intensive aftercare. If you have any questions about guidelines for post-surgery activities, feel free to ask.

Here at Wellness Kliniek, we aim to charge transparent prices. The prices are different for each type of abdominoplasty and supplement. For a list of our current prices, take a look at our abdominoplasty prices page.

Want to find out if abdominoplasty might be right for you? Curious about what type of abdominoplasty would be the best fit for your body? We understand better than anyone that it is a difficult decision to make, but luckily you won’t have to make it all on your own. Our experienced doctors will go over all your options with you, explain what results are achievable, and tell you what your chosen procedure will cost. After such a no-obligation consultation, you can decide whether or not to actually go ahead with the tummy tuck. Contact Wellness Kliniek in Genk now to schedule your consultation.