Abdominoplasty, or a plastic surgery tummy tuck, is a surgical procedure that tightens the muscles of the abdomen and does away with excess fat material and skin. The vertical muscles in the abdomen are tightened during surgery and partial and complete abdominoplasties can be performed.

The process of abdominoplasty takes approximately 4 to 6 hours, with partial procedures lasting 2 to 3. The surgery involves making an incision across the lower abdomen, usually from hip bone to hip bone. During this procedure the patient's navel must be moved, so an extra incision must be made to accommodate for that. With the partial abdominoplasty thenavel may stay in place so no extra incision is required. Skin is then separated and the vertical muscles revealed. The vertical muscles are then pulled to be tightened and then secured by stitches into the new place. When this is complete the flap of skin is pulled down and the extra is removed.

When a partial abdominoplasty is performed, skin is separated between the incision and the patient's navel. Skin that remains is pulled down the excess removed and the remaining skin stitched into place