Traditionally, tummy tuck surgery is thought to be best for patients who have excess skin, often after weight fluctuation or pregnancy.It’s certainly an excellent surgery to tighten a flabby abdomen and will commonly rid a belly of some or all of the stretch marks on the lower abdomen.

However, a tummy tuck also involves tightening the “six-pack” muscles in the center of the belly, which often separate and lie off to the sides instead of in the middle.  Bringing these “rectus abdominis” muscles back together is one of the essential steps of a full tummy-tuck procedure, and it is what improves the waistline and truly tightens the muscular part of the abdominal wall of muscles.