At MyBreast, what we wanted to do is to create Harley Street quality at an affordable price. All the surgeons are all of the higher standard in terms of training, we work with private hospitals of the very higher standard, the doctor-patient relationship is the most important and most fundamental aspect of patient care. You will remain in the care of your doctor, of your surgeon – and this is lifetime if necessary.

Abdominoplasty is an operation to improve the appearance and sometimes the function of the abdomen. It is not an operation for someone who is clinically obese – it’s also unwise if you have a tendency in the family to produce blood clots or if you’ve produced one before. It is also very unwise for smokers as this also increases the risks of blood clots and can result in delays on wound healing itself. It really is extremely important to anyone considering abdominoplasty to have a thorough and professional medical evaluation as to whether the procedure is safe for them.

There is a difference between a so-called mini-abdominoplasty and a full abdominoplasty. A mini-abdominoplasty can be very small indeed and my just involve the removal of excess skin from the lower abdomen. That does however, still produce a scar and the scar is not so very different from a full abdominoplasty. However with a mini abdominoplasty there is almost never really a need to make a cut around the tummy button – a full abdominoplasty however usually involves not just taking away excess skin, but also removing excess fat and repairing the muscles and it’s that muscle repair that is the major distinction between the two procedures.

The procedure of abdominoplasty is always carried out under a general anaesthetic. The scar is low down on the abdomen, usually just above the pubic hair line – the incisions are designed following a natural crease, they also follow the line of modern lingerie and swimwear. Because they sit in a natural crease – although the scar may look quite large when it’s first done, they do tend to heal very well and they fade after a period of many months.  A full abdominoplasty can be painful and its similar in many ways to hernia repair – and the reason for it being painful is that the muscles in the centre of the abdomen are out together and muscles are susceptible to pain when you move them afterwards. During the operation itself we actually inject a long acting anaesthetic into the muscles or the sheet round the muscles and that usually is very very good for three or four days for reducing pain in the abdomen.

In terms of complications or side-effects abdominoplasty is very similar to any lower abdominal operation like caesarean section in that there may be some numbness of the skin of the lower abdomen just above the pubic hair line. For most women this actually recovers and is barely noticeable within a year. Recovery from abdominoplasty takes two weeks, and I think that how fit or how young you are – that’s almost mandatory period for recovery. You won’t be ill in that two weeks, and of course you will be able to walk around and do normal things, but you wouldn’t be able to drive and you certainly wouldn’t be involved in any significant physical exercise. All patients having an abdominoplasty have a garment, a fitted abdominoplasty garment which they need to wear for about 4 weeks. It does reduce pain – more importantly it reduces swelling and it also helps the shape of the new abdomen heal in a nice even way.

Any woman having an abdominoplasty will need to see their surgeon on several occasions post-operatively – in the first two weeks patients are reviewed to make sure that all the healing is progressing very well. It’s also important that patients are seen at 3 months and 6 months after surgery and indeed at 6 months, it can be that sometimes some very minor revisional procedure needs to be carried out. The results of abdominoplasty are generally very good. They can often result in a huge increase in confidence and self-esteem and practically they’ll also make a big difference where one may drop a dress size or two or just be able to wear jeans or skirts much more comfortably and I think that mist women are delighted with the results of the procedure.