New Tummy Tuck Tightens Thighs, Too
Procedure Modifications Tighten Skin On Thighs

UPDATED: 10:14 a.m. EDT April 6, 2004

BALTIMORE -- A flat abdomen can improve your appearance, but for those who have lost a lot of weight, dieting and exercise sometimes aren't enough to get rid of the sagging skin and firm those abs.

After years of struggling with her weight, Debbie Magraw finally got rid of the pounds, but ended up with another problem.

"I had a lot of excess skin and the dieting wouldn't take it off," she said. "I had lost the weight, but I had this mess."

So Magraw decided to have high-lateral tension abdominoplasty -- a tummy tuck. Dr. Armando Soto, of Mercy Medical Center in Baltimore, said this type of tummy tuck gives the patient something more.

"The modifications of this procedure ... allows not just the improvement in the abdomen you'd see with a traditional tummy tuck, but you also see significant improvement in the waistline and the anterior thigh area," said Soto.

During the procedure, an incision is made from hipbone to hipbone in the lower abdomen. The excess skin is removed and then, through the same incision, the skin is tightened on the thighs.

Soto said even though the procedure is more involved than the traditional tummy tuck, the recovery time is about the same.

This sounds great! I hope maybe they can do something like that for me if i can ever afford a tummy tuck!

I would love to have that someday lol.

Someday? How bout now? Now works for me!

My tummy tuck is scheduled for April 29th of this year. Just a few weeks to go. Not the one mentioned above but a traditional one. I will let you know how it goes.

Ohhhh, best of luck ChewGirl. Please give us all of the details, ranging from what was your deciding factor, does insureance cober it, are you nervous, what is your expected recovery time, and...I don't know....Did you loose a lot of weight? Tell us about your surgeon? Tell us...we want details, o.k....at least I do!! LOL....