BEFORE: Planning for Tummy Tucks starts with a full exam and clear goals, like tighter skin and a smoother outline. Your provider checks skin laxity, stretch marks, belly button position, and whether the inner core layer needs repair. You’ll review health history, medicines, and past surgeries, plus any hernia concerns. Most plans ask you to stop nicotine, and to avoid certain bruising supplements only if your doctor says it is safe. Set up help at home, prepare easy meals, and plan a ride, since you will not drive right away. In Grand Rapids, MI, many people also plan to stay out of strong heat and long sun while swelling is high. Set up pillows for bent-knee rest.

DURING: Tummy Tucks are usually done with anesthesia in an accredited surgical setting. After the skin is cleaned, the surgeon makes a low incision, lifts the skin, and repairs the inner core layer with strong stitches to flatten and support the abdomen. Extra skin is removed, and the belly button is brought through a new opening so it looks natural. Many surgeons use internal “quilting” stitches to reduce space where fluid can collect, and some use drains for a short time based on your needs. The team checks symmetry, controls bleeding, and closes the area in layers to support healing. You wake up in a binder or garment, then get clear home-care steps before you leave.

AFTER: Right after Tummy Tucks, tightness, swelling, and soreness are normal, and you may walk slightly bent for a bit to protect the incision. Gentle walking is usually encouraged early to help circulation and lower clot risk. You’ll wear compression, keep the area clean, and avoid heavy lifting and core work until cleared. If you have drains, you’ll track output and learn how to care for them. Call right away for chest pain, trouble breathing, high fever, sudden one-sided leg swelling, or strong worsening belly pain and redness. Over the next weeks, swelling fades, you stand straighter, and the belly looks smoother. Final shape often becomes clearer over several months.