Women and men may seek an abdominoplasty type procedure to address excess skin or fat deposits in the lower abdomen. While pregnancy or Gynaecological surgery may be reasons for women seeking this procedure, weight loss resulting in excessive skin can be an important reason for both in men and women. Patients feel that they have to go to extra lengths to hide the excess skin and fat in the lower abdomen by wearing over sized clothes or tight corsets. Some patients feel that this excess skin and fat also restricts them from pursuing active physical exercises and a fit lifestyle. For those who have lost a lot of weight following weight loss surgery or concerted efforts of exercise and dieting, there may be excessive loose skin in other parts of the body but that in the abdomen becomes their first focus. Your surgeon, during the initial consultation, would identify your problem, would get to know your other medical history, your lifestyle, hobbies and expectation from surgery before choosing and advising you about the appropriate type of operation. The most common form of abdominoplasty would leave a long scar but low down in the abdomen that could be hidden within regular clothing. Other types of abdominoplasty procedures such as “fleur de lys” abdominoplasty may be required if the patient has lost an excessive amount of weight leading to additional loose skin in the upper as well as the lower abdomen. In some instances the weight loss can be so severe that the patient may need the excess skin both in the front and the back of the body to be tidied up at the same time in what is called a “belt lipectomy” or “circumferential” abdominoplasty. The detailed consultation would allow the surgeon to choose the appropriate procedure and guide you through the necessary steps including the scars, the outcome and the modification of lifestyle for a few weeks after the surgery. Some patients may approach for this type of procedure due to a wide gap between the abdominal muscles usually brought about by childbirth or lack of tone in the abdominal muscle. It is possible to tighten some of this looseness during the abdominoplasty type procedure which may also help to regain the toned appearance. The operation is performed under general anaesthesia and you would be advised to stay in the hospital for 3-4 days after surgery. This is mainly due to the drainage tubes inserted during surgery to remove any unwanted fluid collection from the operated wound. Usually the patient would be advised to protect the tension in the wound by taking a slight stoop while standing or walking which will gradually improve in the weeks after surgery as the skin would relax in time. The patient would be advised that this is a major operation and should be treated accordingly with adequate support to recover and to minimise the physical activities for 6-8 weeks time depending on individual circumstances. Occasionally smaller tidy up procedures may be required to achieve the final aesthetic improvement. Due to the complexity of the procedure, it is usually advisable to reach an appropriate weight before performing this surgery – this will be assessed and advised by the surgeon during the initial consultation.