Posted on: November 10, 2022
Stretch marks are usually the nightmare of many patients who come to my office looking for a solution to remove them, either with an aesthetic treatment that hides them or with plastic surgery that eliminates them. These unwanted stretch marks appear almost anywhere on the body and their extension will depend on the elasticity of the patient’s skin. Very often, people with slightly dry skin tend to have more stretch marks than people with hydrated and elastic epidermis.
In this publication, I will dedicate myself to explaining how stretch marks can be eliminated, a condition that is becoming more and more frequent in my patients, both in men and women.
The difference is that women suffer more than men with the appearance of these marks because they are set more than the male gender in beauty standards.
Stretch marks are the result of a natural process when the human body experiences weight changes, or they simply appear with the development of people when they reach adolescence. The best way to eliminate stretch marks, at least in the abdomen, is with an abdominal lipectomy , as the name of plastic surgery indicates. This surgical intervention is also known as abdominoplasty and I will clarify what the operation is about.
However, before giving you the details of the intervention, I will tell you a little about stretch marks and their causes of appearance.
Medically, we call them cutaneous atrophies or scars that appear on the skin in a parallel or scattered manner; They are usually whitish or purple, depending on the area where they grow. Stretch marks are located in the connective tissue of the epidermis and when they form they are red or purple, then they lighten to pink and finally they are pearly white.
Physiologically, stretch marks appear due to the stretching of the middle and inner layers of the skin, due to the breakdown of the collagen and elastin that make it up. This is due to different causes and also to the patient’s skin type. Puberty, rapid growth of an area of the body, sudden weight gain or loss, or muscle growth due to physical training are some of the most common causes of stretch marks. This break between collagen fibers and elastin that greatly weakens the skin can occur on the abdomen, breasts, arms, hips, buttocks, inner legs, even the back.
Commercially, there are many products and in their indications we read that they help reduce stretch marks or prevent them. Some of them contain rosehip, sesame, arnica, honey, carrot oil, and a host of other components that, natural or artificial, help moisturize damaged skin so that it looks smoother and more revitalized. I cannot guarantee that these creams or oils are miracle treatments because when stretch marks appear, they can hardly be removed with commercial products. The laser is an option to hide them a lot, but the only intervention that ends stretch marks and the flaccidity that occurs in the abdomen is abdominal lipectomy.
As I already mentioned, abdominoplasty is an ideal plastic surgery for patients with stretch marks in the middle or lower abdomen and, in turn, flaccidity caused by stretching of the skin. More often than not, women come to my office for a tummy tuck because they have had children or have experienced significant weight loss and are uncomfortable with the appearance of their abdomen. There are also clinical cases of men who, after a large weight loss, require an abdominal lipectomy to remove all stretch marks and excess skin from their abdomen.
Abdominal lipectomy is an intervention that I perform to remove excess skin, stretch marks and, in addition, rebuild the muscles of the area. For this, I start the procedure by applying general anesthesia, then I make an incision in your belly, as low as I can, so that the scar is hidden in the bikini line.
The length of the incision will depend on the amount of loose skin that needs to be removed. I will then rebuild the abdominal muscles to firm them up and then remove the excess skin. Finally, I will make internal and external sutures to join all the tissues. With the external suture I am more careful so that the scar is fine and pleasant; The result will be a tighter, more beautiful waist and an abdomen without stretch marks or without most of the stretch marks that were located in the lower part.
The abdominal lipectomy lasts approximately 2 hours and, at the end, I will place a tight girdle on you so that the tissues remain pressed. This way, you will feel safe moving while your wounds heal.
In the first consultation, I will dedicate myself to listening to you to know what you want and how you imagine the final result of the abdominoplasty. At the same time, I will concentrate on explaining what I can achieve in your abdomen after evaluating the area to be operated on. After the routine exam, I will ask you a series of questions related to your diet, medications that cause allergies, or if you suffer from any disease, if you take any specific medical treatment, if you have an exercise routine or if you smoke. Surely, you will have to carry out a laboratory test to make sure that your values are fine and that your body will be in optimal conditions for the abdominal lipectomy. In addition to my assessment, you will also visit the anesthesiologist so that he can make your assessment and thus comply with the preoperative.
Before the abdominoplasty, you must follow all my medical instructions so that everything goes well: eliminate cigarettes if you smoke regularly, suspend any medication that I suggest, rest 8 hours the night before surgery, eat light meals and wash yourself very well. , since in the first hours it will be a bit difficult for you to be able to bathe as you do daily.
In the postoperative period, you should also comply with my medical recommendations: do not bend over, avoid lifting weights, walk straight as much as possible and walk slowly to promote blood circulation in the body; sleep on your back and rest for a week. The medications that I will indicate to you will relieve the discomfort quickly in case you feel them, and, if you comply with all my medical advice, you will surely have a positive recovery and with the results that you want.
