All brides are the focus of all eyes on their wedding day. It is a natural human tendency to want to weather the scrutiny of a thousand eyes with grace and confidence, and the best way to be confident is to know without any doubt that you are the most stunning woman in the room.
An Indian bride has to make even more effort to look thin and glamorous, since perhaps no other form of dress emphasizes the waist and abdominal area of a woman than the traditional Indian bridal wear, whether it is a sari or a lehenga.
Most brides are well aware of this fact and start hitting the gym months before D day, doing crunches, stretches & sit ups until they drop, all in an effort to flaunt a flat & toned tummy on their wedding day. But as anyone not blest with a naturally flat stomach knows, flab is stubborn and difficult to get rid of and abdominal flab even more so.
But thanks to modern medicine, you no longer have to work on devising ingenious ways of folding your aanchal in an effort to hid unsightly bulges.
What is a tummy tuck?
Tummy tuck is a form of cosmetic surgery, known as abdominoplasty in the formal medical lingo, is the operation to remove excess skin and fat from the abdomen or tummy. There is a widespread perception among the general public that tummy tuck surgery, along with liposuction, is a medical treatment for weight control or obesity. This is most emphatically not the case.
It gives patients a tighter, flatter stomach and results in the almost complete removal or reduction of the appearance of stretch marks on the lower abdomen. Win win situation, right?
Tummy tuck surgery is performed under general anesthesia. During this procedure, a long horizontal incision is made just above the pubic area from hip bone to hip bone. Skin and fatty tissue is separated from the muscle with the excess skin and fatty tissues then being removed, so that the whole area is tightened.
How long does it take to recover from the surgery?
After the surgery, you will have to wear a medical corset for 4 to 6 weeks, and the scar will take 4 – 6 months to fade. So it is best to start planning well before the wedding!
However, it is very important to remember that the results of a tummy tuck are not permanent unless a healthy weight is maintained after operation through balanced diet and exercise. Too many brides forget about hitting the gym regularly & go back to their unhealthy snacking habits after their tummy tuck surgery, and so just end up piling on the kilos.
How much does it cost?
Most plastic surgery clinics offer special bridal packages that offer a number of treatments for the whole family (i.e. the bride’s mother, sisters, other female relatives, etc) at extremely competitive rates. Additionally the cost of a tummy tuck would depend on the city & the doctor you choose to go to. In Delhi’s posh Apollo Hospital, for instance, a tummy tuck would set you back around Rs. 80,000 to Rs. 1,00,00. But you can become slim for a much lower price (at least 40% reduction in initial quote) depending on the city/ hospital you go to.