Rectus Diastasis Repair
Diastasis Recti Repair (After Baby, Six-Pack Gap)
After having children there are many women who continue to have a protruding abdomen with or without extra sagging skin. This usually is the result of the connective tissue (or fascia) of the six-pack muscles being stretched and unable to return to its original form, leaving a gap in-between the six-pack muscles and a wider waist. The severity of the abdominal looseness is due to many factors such as genetics and weight gain (while pregnant or not), which can also cause some discomfort with daily activities that may need medical attention. The medical term for this condition is called diastasis recti. This condition can be fixed with either a full tummy tuck or mini tummy tuck.
Every person is different; we all have different quality to our skin and tissues including the fascia. Fascia is mainly made up of collagen, and each individual body creates collagen with more or less elasticity than the other. This is why some people have a diastasis recti worse than others or not at all.
Diastasis recti happens in overweight people when they gain weight within their abdominal cavity instead of immediately beneath the skin. This causes pressure on the fascia and muscles making it stretch, much like a pregnant woman has a baby stretch her abdominal muscles. Both pregnancy and significant intra-abdominal (or inside the abdomen) weight gain can bring about enough pressure on the abdominal muscles and fascia and cause this condition.
The loosened core muscles can cause some lower back pain and discomfort when flexing and exercising. While trying to do a sit up it is possible to see a ridge of tissue in the middle of the stomach point upwards creating a ridge. This is a sign of diastasis recti This ridge can become more visible after losing weight. Oftentimes people with diastasis recti will have a hernia, or hole in the fascia where intestines may poke through. This is usually found around the belly button area.
Actual Patient of Dr. Doezie
The good news is it can be fixed through what everyone knows as a tummy tuck! A lot of people think that a tummy tuck is to only remove extra abdominal skin when it really is doing both, well only if you need both of course. Dr. Doezie will repair or bring the six-pack muscles back to their normal position where they were before pregnancy or weight gain. This is done by stitching the fascia back together with multiple permanent stitches that are reinforced by scar tissue during the healing process, making it very difficult for them to come apart. This gives you back that tight stomach and waist once again!
Insurance companies offer coverage for a hernia repair because it can cause major medical problems, but they don’t offer coverage for diastasis recti repair because it isn’t considered medically necessary. Every person has slightly different surgical needs, come in for a consultation to get your personalized quote at our office!
Allen Doezie, M.D., is a board certified plastic surgeon with over 10 years of experience. His office is located in Orange County, California. To schedule a consultation, please call 949-481-9850.