Abdominoplasty or "tummy tuck" is a cosmetic surgery procedure used to make the abdomen thinner and more firm. The surgery involves the removal of excess skin and fat from the middle and lower abdomen in order to tighten the muscle and fascia of the abdominal wall. This type of surgery is usually sought by patients with loose or sagging tissues, that develop after pregnancy or major weight loss.

Modern abdominoplasties were developed starting in the 1960s. Heavier populations have led to increased demand for the surgeries, while technological advancements have improved their quality.

Abdominoplasty surgeries vary in scope and are frequently subdivided into categories. Depending on the extent of the surgery, a complete abdominoplasty can take from one to five hours. A partial abdominoplasty (mini-tuck abdominoplasty) can be completed between one and two hours. On the other hand a fleur-de-lis abdominoplasty can take up to seven hours.

In general, a complete or full abdominoplasty follows these steps:

A partial or mini abdominoplasty proceeds as follows:

An extended abdominoplasty is a complete abdominoplasty plus a lateral thigh lift. The resulting scar runs from the posterior axillary line (when placing one's open hands on the hips, the thumbs lie along the posterior axillary line). The operation does all of the abdominal contouring of a complete abdominoplasty and allows further improvement of the flank (waist), as well as smoothing the contour of the upper lateral thigh.

This is an advanced technique that takes a little more than four and half hours to perform. Conventional abdominoplasty tightens muscles in a vertical line. In this new method, known as high lateral tension abdominoplasty, in addition to vertical-line tightening, muscles are tightened horizontally. The result with this technique is a dramatically flat abdomen with significantly better-defined waistline.

This new technique, also known as an extended mini abdominoplasty, allows for tightening and shaping through a smaller incision that is not placed around the belly button. Through this smaller incision, excess skin is removed and the belly button is temporarily detached, floating above the muscles during this process. The muscles are tightened and reshaped from sternum to pubic area. The skin is then tightened and the belly button is reattached, or moved down one or two cm if desired. Liposuction may also be performed to achieve desirable results.