Tummy Tuck Tips: Outpatient Surgery
Even though a Tummy Tuck procedure is a fairly extensive surgery, it is generally performed as an outpatient procedure. At the Centre for Plastic Surgery in Grand Rapids Michigan we perform a large number of outpatient Tummy Tuck procedures each year in our private accredited surgery center. Board-Certified Plastic Surgeons like ours are required to perform surgery in accredited centers. To have a surgery center accredited it means that the center must meet most if not all of the requirements that a local hospital would have to meet. This accreditation is renewed yearly, and detailed inspections are part of that renewal process. Since most private surgical centers like ours perform only cosmetic surgical procedures, it generally means that the infection rate is much lower than procedures performed at a hospital.
At any accredited center the Surgeon and staff should require patients to have a designated caregiver who understands the post-op care needs of the Tummy Tuck patient. Patients that receive this procedure will need help several days following the procedure. A patient will often feel tired from anesthesia, will need help with medications, and need help with movement. An Abdominoplasty often includes repair of muscle separation that limits the patient’s ability to roll to the side or get up from a reclining position. This repair of the muscle separation changes the way the “core” muscles work for several days which means that patients need help out of a chair, bed, in and out of the shower, or even off the toilet. Patients find that their recovery is much more comfortable when they have proper care following their procedure.
As long as a patient does not have any complicating medical or health issues, it is safe to have a Tummy Tuck performed as an outpatient procedure in a private surgical center. At the Centre for Plastic Surgery, we work with a team of surgeons, Anesthesiologists and nurses that have decades of experience performing outpatient cosmetic procedures. Our surgery center has an exemplary record of care and a highly attentive team. It’s a quiet, private, and comfortable place to undergo a surgical procedure.