How to Eliminate Your Post-Pregnancy Paunch

By Frank Campanile

As rewarding as motherhood is, there’s no denying that pregnancy and childbirth can take a toll on your body. While many of the most obvious changes, such as extra weight gain, will resolve after your pregnancy, some may be here to stay. One example of this is the appearance of the post-pregnancy paunch; no matter how many targeted exercises you try or weight you lose, a stubborn potbelly often remains. For many women, C.L.A.S.S. tummy tucks, tummy tucks that are combined with liposuction, can finally offer a solution.

Understanding Pregnancy Changes
Your body undergoes a variety of changes very quickly during pregnancy. Extra weight is stored throughout the body to make sure you have enough energy stockpiled to see you through your pregnancy. Breasts often change shape and size, both in response to weight gain and because of hormonal changes. Some women even find that their feet change size after pregnancy, their hair becomes straighter or curlier or notice other unpredictable physical shifts.

One of the primary changes during pregnancy, of course, is the swelling of the uterus to accommodate the growing baby within. In return, the abdominal muscles also stretch to allow the expansion of the uterus. This can cause the abdominal muscles to separate completely in a condition called diastasis recti, which can be permanent. For other women, tummies simply never firm up again the way they were before their pregnancy, even without a total separation of muscles.

Many of the changes seen in the body during pregnancy are purely cosmetic, and will gradually return to normal as time passes; making an extra effort to eat right and exercise after your baby is born can help shed any remaining excess pregnancy pounds. Yet for some women, plastic surgery may be needed to repair permanent muscle separation and laxity.

A Combination Approach
Plastic surgeons in Denver generally take one of two approaches when it comes to minimizing your muffin top: either liposuction or a tummy tuck. Although both can improve the lines of your abdomen, they work in very different ways.

Liposuction involves making a few tiny incisions near the belly, through which a cannula (hollow surgical tube) is inserted. The fat cells are broken apart through one of a variety of methods, and then the cannula can be used to physically remove the excess fat cells. Although liposuction is the gold standard of body sculpting as far as removing fat deposits is concerned, lipo can’t tighten muscles that have been too stretched out. For women whose main problem is fat related rather than muscle separation, lipo may be sufficient for a slimmer profile.

A tummy tuck, or abdominoplasty, surgically repairs separated muscles by stitching them back in place, while removing excess skin and tissue for a smoother, firmer look. Although a tummy tuck is ideal for major structural and muscular repair, it doesn’t offer the same level of fine-tuning and finesse that’s possible with liposuction. For women whose abdominal muscles separated during pregnancy or became permanently overstretched, this surgery is the only solution for a flatter tummy.

For the majority of women, however, a prominent belly is not and either-or problem; both excess fat and muscular structure are responsible. A new procedure called the C.L.A.S.S. Tummy Tuck is now offered by Dr. Frank Campanile, who developed the surgery in order to combine both liposuction and abdominoplasty safely and effectively. By taking a new approach toward tummy tuck surgery, the C.L.A.S.S. Tummy Tuck offers a winning solution for finally eliminating post-pregnancy paunch without needing separate procedures.