Many women living in Dubai regret the excesses of the fantastic brunches, bars and restaurants we have here, take a look at themselves in the mirror and with gritted determination, promise themselves to get fit, lose weight and look better. Many ladies will also consider cosmetic surgery to help them reach their goals and some of the most common procedures requested, (particularly post Christmas and pre Summer), involve the treatment of the abdomen.
Treatment of the abdomen can range from relatively non-invasive treatments right through to the highly invasive abdominoplasty (known as the tummy tuck). It really depends on the patient’s personal goal as a little stubborn fat may be treated effectively by liposuction or even Cryo-lipolysis, whereas an abdomen ravaged by multiple pregnancies, for example, may require muscle reconstruction and even skin removal. Here we aim to provide information on the different treatments available in Dubai for helping improve the appearance of the abdomen.
Non-Surgical Treatments
Let’s start with the less invasive, non-surgical treatments that are those that don’t involve any cutting of the skin. Generally, these methods have less downtime and are well tolerated. The downside to these is that they are not for everyone and will only help very specific problems.
Cryo-lipo
This is a relatively new treatment which has been around for the last 5 years. It involves the freezing of stubborn areas of fat and has reasonable results. Pads are placed on the problem area and the area is ‘frozen’ causing damage to the underlying fat cells, reducing the volume and giving an improved contour.
The areas typically treated are the ‘love handles’ or ‘muffin tops’ and the lower abdomen.
Radio-frequency, Ultrasound and Laser
Radio-frequency/Ultrasound/Laser – all of these methods have claimed to help tighten the skin, when they will not, in fact, help reduce stubborn areas of fat. The tightening of the skin essentially depends on heat being generated by the apparatus causing the dermis to contract and the results from these treatments vary wildly and whilst there may be slight improvements in some cases, the results will be nowhere near as dramatic as a tummy tuck.
Surgical Treatments
These are hose that involve cutting of the skin and should take place in a hospital or clinical setting. Surgical treatments will always give much more dramatic results than non-surgical but they do demand a longer downtime and recovery too. Surgical treatments often involve an anesthetic of some description and are associated with risks, and therefore it’s vital that if you are thinking of undergoing a surgical procedure, you understand exactly what these risks are.
When contemplating cosmetic surgery consider the following:
Your surgeon and their qualifications
Not all qualifications are equal – the UK and USA have the most rigorous examination process, so look for your surgeon to be on the UK GMC specialist register for Plastic, Reconstructive & Aesthetic surgery and that they hold the FRCS (Plast) qualification or American Board Certified)
Your surgeon and your relationship
Ask yourself if you feel comfortable with your surgeon ? Can you communicate with him/her effectively? And most importantly, do you feel confident with him/her ?
Your surgeon and their experience
Does your surgeon have experience ? Can he/she show you photographs of previous patients? Can he/she put you in contact with previous patients? Can you read independent patient reviews on your surgeon? (www.realself.com is an excellent website for this)
Your facility
Ate you happy with the facility you will be having your surgery performed in? Remember the fancy, gold fronted clinics often don’t have operating facilities there and you will actually be operated on somewhere else.
The process
Cosmetic surgery is big business – but your treatment is not life-saving and as such, you should never feel pressurised into undergoing a cosmetic procedure and you must always be able to change your mind at anytime.
So now let’s look at the different types of treatment available:
Liposuction
This involves the removal of fat from the body by means of a suction device. There are many new adjuncts to liposuction (laser, ultrasound etc), all of which are said to help tighten the skin too. Liposuction is a highly effective way of removing fat from the abdomen but it can also cause huge problems if the overlying skin is not of sufficient quality. The single factor which determines the outcome of liposuction is the skin quality as following removal of the fat, the overlying skin must be able to tighten afterwards, or otherwise the result will be far from perfect, with loose, excess skin evident.
Liposuction is best suited to younger women with small isolated areas of fat and women with larger amounts of fat, stretchmarks or loose skin are not really suitable candidates for liposuction alone.
This surgery is typically performed under general anaesthesia and can be performed as a daycase. Following the procedure, you can expect significant bruising and to wear a compression garment to help reduce swelling, and to help the skin to re-drape and improve the contour of the abdomen.
Abdominoplasty Surgery
Known as the tummy tuck, this is the most invasive of all the treatments on the abdomen and it will leave a sizeable scar. There are three main types of abdominoplasty, with each one suited to particular problems:
– Mini Abdominoplasty
– Full Abdominoplasty (+/- liposuction)
– Fleur-de- Lis Abdominoplasty
Mini Abdominoplasty
This procedure is used for patients with small amounts of skin excess in the lower abdomen. It’s commonly performed on ladies with old c-section scars that have produced a small overhang of skin/fat and it will address both the excess and the scar itself. This procedure will only address the skin of the lower abdomen (below the umbilicus) and does not fix any muscle weakness and the scar is typically shorter than that of a standard abdominoplasty, which often makes it more appealing, however it is vital that ladies understand that this procedure is more of a refining treatment and will not produce the results of a standard abdominoplasty.
Full Abdominoplasty (+/- liposuction)
The full abdominoplasty, (with or without liposuction), is the gold standard when it comes to abdominal contouring. The procedure allows the surgeon to address all aspects of the abdomen, (namely the skin), subcutaneous fat and the underlying musclle too.
During the procedure, an incision is made just above the pubic area running from hip to hip, with the aim being to hide the scar below the bikini line, a further incision is made around the umbilicus. The skin and subcutaneous fat is then raised off the muscular abdominal wall, around the umbilicus and all the way up to the ribcage. This extensive exposure of the abdominal wall allows the surgeon to tighten the muscle (rectus abdominis – the ‘six-pack’), which can often become divided or weakened following pregnancy. This can help with core stability, improve back pain and help develop a more defined waistline. The skin is then drawn back down over the abdomen and the excess skin and subcutaneous fat is excised. A new position for the umbilicus is then made and the wounds are sutured. Drains may be used to help reduce any fluid accumulation under the skin, and a compression garment will be placed around the abdomen to aid recovery.
Following this procedure you will likely require 1 or 2 nights stay in hospital and approximately 7-14 days off work, with recovery being complete by 6 weeks and the final result being apparent by 3-6 months later.
This procedure is by far the most invasive and does take a longer time to recover from; however the results are dramatic.
The surgery, however, is not without risks and of course involves a sizeable scar – and these are the things that must be explicitly highlighted to you by your surgeon.
Fleur-de-Lis Abdominoplasty
A less commonly known type of abdominoplasty, is normally only performed on patients who have undergone massive weight loss and have large amounts of excess skin in both the vertical and horizontal directions. It takes its name from the French influenced decorative symbol and during this procedure, (in addition to the standard horizontal abdominoplasty incision), a further incision is made up the midline of the abdomen allowing skin and subcutaneous fat to be excised from the lateral aspects of the abdomen.
This procedure is a powerful method of excising large amounts of redundant skin and fat, making it ideal for those patients who have lost large amounts of weight, although, unfortunately, the trade off is a highly visible scar running down the middle of the abdomen.
In summary, there are a myriad of treatments available for abdominal contouring and not one single treatment is suitable for everyone. If you are considering a treatment however, it’s really important that you have a clear idea of what you want to achieve in your head before you go in to see a surgeon. Make sure that you have done your research on the facility and the surgeon – and check their credentials, and no reputable surgeon should get upset if you ask about their training and qualifications!
An increasing trend that is appearing in Dubai is the ‘visiting’ plastic surgeon who will be in Dubai for only a few days every few months. If you’re a resident here, it might not be the best practice given that the surgeon is not always available, and it’s strongly recommended that if you are considering surgery in Dubai, you select a surgeon that is living and working in Dubai as well as it’s important that you use someone that is easily contactable should you run into any problems or simply have a question or query.
Cosmetic surgery is never something that should be rushed into. Take your time when considering surgery, do your homework and look forward to a fantastic result.
Written by Dr Frank Conroy MBChB MRCS FRCS(Plast)
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