Ask OB/GYN to "pull me tight" after c-section?

Interesting. I’ve always had a sort of loose belly and even more so after two Caesarean births, although I don’t think it was particularly caused by the sections. If that had been an option, I would certainly have looked into it but would need to really know from my doctor how comfortable and confident s/he was about it. I have to say I’m generally “more of a let nature take its course” person so I’m not sure if I would do it.

I hadn’t heard about this before are you sure the doctors are doing this and it is an option?

@Summum Yes, my friend who talked to me about it works at the hospital where I’m delivering and she is sure.

My mom had her OBGYN give her a bit of a ‘tuck’ after she had an emergency surgery done due to complications shortly after her hysterectomy (which was done abdominally). That emergency surgery was the 4th time her stomach had been cut in the same area (twice for c-sections 20 years prior, once for the hysterectomy about 2 months prior, and then the emergency surgery). She was joking with him when she asked for it (it was right as she was being put under). When she woke up, he told her that he ‘cleaned up her incision site for her’. She was/still is happy with it. Her stomach still has some pudge to it, since it wasn’t an actual tummy tuck, but the area in general looks much better than it did prior to the emergency surgery.

I personally don’t think I would ask for it at this point, but maybe that would change down the road. If you do consider asking your doctor about it, good luck. I imagine some of them have ‘cleaned up’ the area for women in the past while others might not be so willing. If you know any other woman that have had your doctor in the past, you could ask them about their experiences.

@BBSDTfamily Thanks for the information. If I were you I would look into it and decide from the pros and cons of what you find out. Good Luck

Wonders never cease! So now surgeons are doing tummy ticks during C sections!

It’s entirely up to you, but, I tend to agree with @janbb

Your body is supposed to show signs of giving birth, and a soft belly is a small price to pay.

Yep, you have to do your own balance sheet of pros/cons. Good luck as well!

I would talk to a plastic surgeon and see if the doctors could coordinate. I agree, with you about having an OB do a plastic surgeons job.

@Judi The plastic surgery center is actually the floor below the OB/GYN offices, so maybe they actually could coordinate that!

Obviously, this is a personal decision so it’s up to you. I just see so much wrong with c-sections anyway being a dime a dozen but to now ‘encourage’ women to conveniently get tucks sounds straight out of the ‘why don’t we prey on their worst socialized fear of not having their body back and get ‘em to to pay for this other largely unnecessary procedure’ booklet. The ability of the field of obstetrics to continue to take advantage of women astounds me, sometimes.

Having seen enough procedures done, I would really only have it done by someone who does it all the time. Their results are doing to be better. Plastics is one case where I feel you should ask about what the results are like before you make a decision.

If that was an option I feel cheated, I would truly look into it, expecially when you are so close in time to it.. After two, I have body changes and its all caused of it… But I wish you the best of luck

This is why so many celebs choose a C-section…HOWEVER, they hire a plastic surgeon to be scheduled for the same time slot as their c-section.

No, I would not personally have this done by an OB.

Nope. I wouldn’t have it done, but know two people that did. One looks great, the other one would make some worst list for plastic surgery.

Both of my children were c-section babies; I lost the weight firmed up what I could and am okay with what is there…not much; but sure, it’s not like it was at 18. I had two children. I’m okay with imperfection. :)

It’s a personal decision, but I would rather have a plastic surgeon on hand. Maybe that’s the difference in insurance coverage, though. If a plastic surgeon does it, maybe it’s not covered. Assuming that this is covered by insurance.

Agree with @sleepdoc. You’re already having a c-section, which has its own laundry list of possible complications . A plastic surgery on top of this increases the size of that list. Women have been getting pregnant, delivering babies, and looking great afterwards for millenia.

@Simone_De_Beauvoir If the OB/GYN does it, it is free at my hospital. It’s not a full tuck; they just cut a little extra skin (they already cut your old c-section scar off and pull the skin down) than they normally would. Not a huge tummy tuck, just a little something extra they’ll do. They don’t offer this, you must request it on your own. I don’t see them as taking advantage of women at all, but rather helping their clients out in what way they can if they are requested to do so.

The issue is “cutting extra skin” means making a separate incision therefore increasing the risk of bleeding.

I’ve been thinking about this since I answered this question. I keep thinking of this; would I have preferred my ob/gyn to do my cerebral aneurysm surgery or the wonderful neurosurgeon that did an excellent job?

Being a person who has gone through many surgeries, I have learned how serious even the easiest of procedures can be to a patient’s health.

@BBSDTfamily Whenever I hear about these new procedures, I just ask ‘why?’ – why are they doing this? They certainly don’t give a crap about you so what are they doing it for?

@Simone_De_Beauvoir I’ve heard of several OBGYNs studying with a plastic surgeon in order to be able to do a tuck because so many patients ask them about it. So, for some, it’s a matter of being asked enough times that it seems worth it to get the extra training in order to do what their patients want. I personally never would have thought about it, but I know many woman that have asked for a tuck with their c-section.

@Rarebear If you’ve had a c-section before (like I have), they cut the old incision away anyways, so there is no seperate incision.

@Simone_De_Beauvoir What makes you so certain that the OB/GYN’s at my hospital “certainly don’t give a crap about you” ? Sorry if you’ve had some bad experience with yours, but don’t pretend to know how all OB/GYN’s feel about their patients.

@BBSDTfamily I haven’t had a c-section, but I’ve performed hundreds of them.

@Rarebear Do you perform these another way? I was told that instead of cutting so close to my existing scar to remove it, he will just cut almost an inch further up, so still one incision just a little different place and a little tighter to pull the skin back together. Am I misunderstanding that? (He removes the existing c-section scar instead of reopening it with every new c-section, whether you get a little extra removed or not)

@BBSDTfamily I haven’t had bad experiences with my gynos. I just know the world of medicine. You are one in thousands, a tiny fraction of a pattern of a corporate for-profit machine – nothing is about you, it’s nothing personal.

@BBSDTfamily Yes, it can be done that way. When I did my repeat sections I just cut on the previous scar so there wouldn’t be two scars. If you cut above the scar and pull down, then you have to resect the excess skin—therefore lengthening the procedure and having to do two incisions.

If your gynecologist knows what he’s doing, though in terms of how much to cut and how to do it, then it should be fine. But that goes to what @sleepdoc was saying. You want to make sure it’s done with someone who has done it before and knows what they’re doing.

And no, not all physicians are money grubbing shills for corporate interests.

@Simone_De_Beauvoir I just don’t think such a blanket statement like that should be made. Sure, there are many doctors that feel the way you describe. But there are also doctors who do extra things for their patients that aren’t required and don’t earn them any more money. For instance, he doesn’t have to give out his personal phone number so that I can reach him even when he’s not on call just because I am most comfortable with him. He’s not earning any profit that way, he just actually cares and likes to care for his own patients.

@Rarebear I really appreciate you chiming in since you know so much about it! You’re right, I was told the procedure would be longer. Maybe since they cut away the old scar anyway, there won’t be too much extra risk for me because I’d end up with the same number of cuts? With my last c-section I never felt any pain whatsoever except for the day of the surgery. I am hesitant about this one because I want to be able to get up and go with this surgery and not have a harder recovery. However, even if I don’t get the tuck I may have a harder recovery anyway just because it doesn’t happen the same way everytime for everyone. I will definitely find out if he’s done it before with the plastic surgeon. I appreciate it!

@BBSDTfamily What he does in terms of his care for you is not what I’m talking about – there are docs that care about people, sure. I’m discussing a pattern of this new procedure being offered across the country that has little to do with your intimate relationship with your particular doctor.

@Simone_De_Beauvoir “They certainly don’t give a crap about you so what are they doing it for?”

If my doctor doesn’t charge anything extra, and I request he spend extra time in surgery for me because I want it done, then he does give a crap about me. The pattern that I’ve heard from others is that most OB/GYN aren’t charging for this. They’re taking extra time though. So the pattern seems to be that lots of them do care to help their patients and it’s not a profit motivated task. In general though, yes I agree a lot of things are done without the patient’s best interest in mind- lots of those things being things that are common practice in the labor/delivery floor (ex: unnecessary cesarean sections and episiotomies, the use of stirrups for every single patient, etc.). I just don’t think this is one.

@BBSDTfamily I hope it is a positive procedure for you. As I said, this is highly personal and obviously you know your physician better than I.

I just recently spoke to my doctor about having this done. (I will be having a c-section in about 2 weeks). I have had 2 previous deliveries, one that left me with a bad diastasis (or permanent separation of abdominal muscles). He said he would be more than happy to “tighten” that back up for me during my c-section. However, he recommended that I wait 6–8 months for a plastic surgeon to remove extra skin, if I wished to have that done as well.