Photo credit: New York, NY - September 12, 2019: Cardi B (Belcalis Almanzar) attends 5th Annual Diamond Ball benefiting the Clara Lionel Foundation at Cipriani Wall Street by Lev Radin; Shutterstock
Perhaps you've seen on social media that American rapper Cardi B is considering having plastic surgery to get rid of some loose skin around her abdomen as a result of pregnancies. She recently went on record telling fans that she was over her post-baby body after giving birth to her second child. Her sentiments about post-pregnancy changes are commonly shared among fit women who have also experienced weight fluctuations and abdominal changes after pregnancies.
Loose Skin After Babies
Loose skin after pregnancy does not lend itself to very many options. Liposuction, whether ultrasound or laser-assisted liposuction, has no ability to tighten skin that has lost its elasticity. In some cases, liposuction as a standalone treatment can actually worsen the appearance of lax skin by removing excess fat that serves as scaffolding support to the skin itself. Even nonsurgical options like BodyTite® are marginally effective when the need to remove puddling skin below the belly button is necessary. In fact, the only effective method for dealing with post-pregnancy skin stretching is surgical removal by means of a tummy tuck.
Not All Tummy Tucks Are Created Equal
In the case of Cardi B, a less-invasive option for surgical abdominoplasty could be sufficient to remove her post-pregnancy pooch. A standard tummy tuck involves a longer incision from hip bone to hip bone across the lower abdomen. This scar can be kept low, below the bikini line, but it still can be daunting for many potential patients.
When the amount of excess skin is minimal, a mini or tiny tummy tuck can be very effective. This involves keeping the incision inside the hip bones as low as possible; like a longer C-section scar. Excess skin is removed as an ellipse of skin that does not need to extend above the belly button like in a standard tummy tuck. This technique conceals the mini tummy tuck scar while removing the excess skin to flatten the abdomen. The belly button can be adjusted or floated so it is repositioned without a telltale belly button scar. When done precisely, a tiny tuck can leave a girl with a flat abdomen and no visible scars.
While not all patients will be candidates for this procedure, those like Cardi B, without concerns of abdominal muscle separation or excessive amounts of loose skin, would be a great candidate.