Dr. John Anastasatos is an award-winning Los Angeles Plastic Surgeon and he is known for his exceptional cosmetic outcomes, his very warm personality, and his gentle touch. Dr. Anastasatos is an excellent choice for your Rectus Muscle Repair Surgery in Los Angeles.

The standard abdominoplasty or standard tummy tuck is a cosmetic procedure that addresses the stretching changes that affect the whole abdominal wall. That includes the abdominal skin, the subcutaneous fat, and the underlying rectus abdominis muscles. The rectus abdominis muscles typically stretch in women as a result of pregnancy. These muscles may stretch in both men and women as a result of weight gain.

Dr. John Anastasatos feels it is very important to address the following during a diastasis recti repair surgery and standard abdominoplasty (tummy tuck) procedures:

Skin and subcutaneous fat

Dr. Anastasatos removes the lower abdominal skin and subcutaneous fat. Typically this is below the belly button. In certain cases
Dr. Anastasatos may excise redundant and ax skin above the belly button if it creates a bulge of a fold. The goal is to create a very flat abdomen. The maximum possible of excess skin is always removed.

Umbilicus or Belly button

Dr. Anastasatos re-creates a natural-looking belly button. The new belly button may be more youthful devoid of laxity and/or stretch marks.

Abdominal muscles-correction of diastasis recti

The abdominal wall muscles can stretch and relax due to many factors. I women the most common is pregnancy. In men, the most common reason is weight gain and obesity. When the rectus abdominis muscles stretch then they separate in the middle. This is called diastasis recti. It is a condition that requires diastasis recti repair surgery in order to correct the condition.

The surgical repair is done by elevating the upper abdominal skin all the way up to the level of the xiphoid and the breasts. Then the repair begins from the very top at the inferior aspect of the sternum and continues all the way down to the pubic symphysis. Dr. Anastasatos uses permanent sutures twice to make sure the repair remains potent forever.

Scar placement

Placing the scar very low at the level of the pubis is very important. A frequent cause of dissatisfaction in tummy tuck surgery is when the scars are placed too high. Dr. Anastasatos designs the resulting scar very low on the pubis so that it can be covered even by a very small bikini bottom.

Umbilical Hernia

An umbilical hernia is something commonly present when someone has significant diastasis recti. It is usually the result of pregnancy. The best way to fix an umbilical hernia is with a standard type abdominoplasty or tummy tuck. Dr. Anastasatos will fix the umbilical hernia at the same time of the diastasis recti repair and the abdominoplasty.

Liposuction

Concurrent liposuction can be done at the same time as abdominoplasty. This is commonly done to the flanks but can be also done to the rest of the abdomen in certain patients. This is an important part of the conversation during the pre-operative consultation.

Avoidance of Dog Ears

Dr. Anastasatos’ technique is designed to avoid dog-ears. Dog-ears can be a frequent problem of most tummy tuck procedures. If they occur they require additional surgery to fix them. There is a way to avoid them. Please discuss with Dr. Anastasatos his method to prevent and avoid dog ears.