Why Diastasis Repair Should Be Part of Every Tummy Tuck

Fixing the abdominal muscles is a critical part of the tummy tuck, and I include it on virtually every patient. In my entire career, I've only had one patient where the muscles were close enough together that repair wasn't needed.

A tummy tuck tightens the skin — but for the best possible result, we also want your abdominal wall to be as flat as possible. When the rectus muscles separate (diastasis recti), your abdominal contents push through the gap in the middle. The muscles tip outward, making the abdominal wall look round rather than flat.

If your diastasis is more than a centimeter or so, I think repairing it is essential for achieving that flat, toned contour.

Diastasis repair can add some additional pain to your tummy tuck recovery. There are effective options to help with this:

• Exparel — a long-acting local anesthetic injected during surgery
• TAP block (transversus abdominis plane block) — a nerve block that numbs the abdominal wall

Talk to your surgeon about these options to improve your post-operative comfort.

There is a small increase in hematoma risk — specifically a hematoma within the rectus sheath. However, this is a very minor increase in complication rates. The benefit of a flatter, stronger abdominal wall far outweighs this small risk.

• Diastasis repair should be part of the tummy tuck for nearly every patient
• It transforms the abdominal wall from round to flat
• Pain management options like Exparel and TAP blocks make recovery manageable
• The slight increase in hematoma risk is minimal compared to the improved results
• If you're a good candidate, it's absolutely worth adding