Tummy Tuck for Katonah, NY

Why sit-ups never fixed it

Plenty of people who ask about a tummy tuck have already done everything they were told to: kept their weight steady, exercised, eaten well. The stomach still will not flatten, because the problem is not fat. It is skin that has been stretched past the point of springing back, and abdominal muscles that pregnancy or a big change in weight has pulled apart. Neither responds to effort, and both are what an abdominoplasty is designed to correct.

From Katonah, the surgeon who does that is close: Bellava’s accredited suite at 182 Route 117 Bypass Road in Bedford Hills is about three minutes away without traffic, by Bedford Road and Route 117.

What happens during a full tummy tuck

1. One low incision, running between the belly button and the pubic area, placed so the scar will sit below the bikini line.
2. The muscle repair. Separated abdominal muscles (diastasis recti) are drawn back together, which is what removes the bulge that stays even in fit people.
3. Removing what is left over. Loose skin and the fat beneath it are taken away — and with them any stretch marks below the navel.
4. Repositioning the belly button, then a closure with sutures designed to keep the scar low and easy to hide.

You are under general anesthesia for this, typically for two to five hours depending on the technique, and you go home the same day.

What it will and will not do

• It will give you a firmer, flatter front, a narrower waist and clothes that fit the way you want.
• It will last, provided your weight stays stable afterwards.
• It will not make you lighter. It is not a weight-loss operation, and Bellava advises reaching or nearing your goal weight first.
• It will not treat fat on the flanks or hips on its own; that is what liposuction added in the same session is for.

Who performs it

Chang Soo Kim, MD, has performed more than 500 tummy tucks. A Yale School of Medicine graduate who trained at Yale–New Haven Hospital, he is certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery and is a member of both the American Society of Plastic Surgeons and the Yale Plastic Surgery Society. Women and men both come to him for this operation.

Katonah patients ask

Will my belly button look different? In a full tummy tuck it is repositioned to suit the tightened abdomen. A mini tummy tuck, which treats only the area below the navel, leaves it where it is.

When will I see the final shape? Your final contour shows once the swelling has fully settled, which takes three to six months; the scar goes on fading for twelve to eighteen months.

When can I go back to work? Desk work and light activity usually resume within two to three weeks; strenuous exercise waits until around six weeks and Dr. Kim’s clearance.

Where do I start? With a free, private consultation. The main tummy tuck page and Dr. Kim’s before and afters are worth a look first.