Dr Bernard Beldholm 
This is a step by step account of one body contouring operation I performed for a post pregnancy patient. It is written to show what actually happens during surgery, stage by stage, using photographs taken during the case. Every patient is different, and this account describes one person’s operation, not
Your rectus abdominis muscles are the pair of long muscles that run down the front of your abdomen, 1 on the left and 1 on the right. Down the middle, joining them, is a band of connective tissue called the linea alba. In everyday terms this is what people picture
In Australia, about 1.5% of women who give birth have a multiple pregnancy, and almost all of these are twins (1). Carrying more than one baby stretches the abdominal wall further than a single pregnancy, so separation of the abdominal muscles (diastasis recti) tends to be both more common and
One of the most common questions I hear from women after having children is how soon they can have abdominoplasty (tummy tuck) surgery. It is a fair question, and the answer is that there is no single number that fits everyone. Timing is a clinical decision. It depends on your
In Australia, a post pregnancy abdominoplasty (tummy tuck) usually costs somewhere between about $6,000 and $30,000 or more. That is a wide range, and it is wide for good reasons. The final figure depends on the operation you actually need, whether a Medicare item number applies to your muscle repair,
Returning to physical activity after an abdominoplasty (tummy tuck) is something I talk through with every patient before they go home. An abdominoplasty is major surgery, and the recovery process runs over months rather than weeks. The questions are almost always the same. When can I start walking? When can
A limited abdominoplasty (mini tummy tuck) is an operation that treats the lower abdomen, the area below the navel. It is smaller in scope than a full abdominoplasty, which treats the whole abdominal wall and repositions the navel. In my practice, I see women considering a limited abdominoplasty after they
One of the more common questions I am asked by women after pregnancy is whether exercise can help diastasis recti, the separation of the abdominal muscles that often develops while carrying a baby. The short answer is that exercise can help in many cases, and for a lot of women
If you have had a caesarean, you already know what major abdominal surgery feels like. So when women come to see me about an abdominoplasty (tummy tuck), one of the first questions is usually how the recovery will compare. It is a fair thing to ask. For most women the
One of the most common questions I am asked at consultation is where the scar will sit, and whether it will be visible. It is a fair question. An abdominoplasty (tummy tuck) leaves a permanent scar, and where that scar sits matters to the people I operate on. In my