As a competitive body builder, this 46-year-old mother was frustrated with the persistent laxity and “flabby” appearance of her abdominal muscles after pregnancy. Like many mothers, she found that pregnancy had caused diastasis, a problem where the abdominal muscles separate at the midline and allow the internal organs to press the belly outward.

She had trained rigorously to correct the problem, but no amount of exercise can correct that separation, and when she flexed her abs in competitions, she only accentuated the problem. She decided it was time to meet with a plastic surgeon to talk about her choices for a tummy tuck in Los Angeles.

She explained to her surgeon that she wanted to correct the problem and regain her competitive edge, and after he examined her abdominal muscles, her surgeon agreed that an abdominoplasty (tummy tuck) was the right approach. In a full tummy tuck the surgeon creates a curved incision from hip to hip, then stitches loose or torn abdominal muscles using a line of stitches that cinch the muscle fibers together firmly. After this step, most women will need the surgeon to remove extra fat, then reposition the belly button, but in this case the surgeon removed very little excess skin and did not need to reposition the belly button at all.

Very healthy patients tend to heal quickly, and only 4 months after her surgery this woman won 1st place in a major bodybuilding competition. Her “after” pictures show the dramatic difference her procedure made: not only does her body look slimmer and firmer, but it also looks fitter and better toned. She is very happy with her Beverly Hills area plastic surgery results.