Abdominal apron (pannus)

An abdo­mi­nal apron, medi­cal­ly known as a pan­nus, is an excess of skin and fat­ty tis­sue that hangs like an apron from the lower abdo­men over the pubic area.

Cau­ses

An apron most often remains after major weight loss, for exam­p­le fol­lo­wing gas­tric bypass sur­gery, becau­se the stret­ched skin can no lon­ger retract suf­fi­ci­ent­ly. Mul­ti­ple pregnan­ci­es, natu­ral skin age­ing and exis­ting excess weight also contribute.

Sym­ptoms

Bes­i­des the visu­al impact, mois­tu­re and fric­tion often build up in the skin fold beneath the apron. This leads to red­ness, cha­fing, fun­gal infec­tions or unp­lea­sant odour. Depen­ding on its size, the apron can get in the way when wal­king, exer­cis­ing or washing and may make back pain worse.

Tre­at­ment

The apron is remo­ved sur­gi­cal­ly. A pan­ni­culec­to­my remo­ves only the over­han­ging flap of skin and fat, while an abdo­mi­no­plasty also tigh­tens the enti­re abdo­mi­nal wall and, whe­re nee­ded, the mus­cles. Lipo­suc­tion alo­ne does not remo­ve excess skin. Weight should be sta­ble for seve­ral months befo­re surgery.

Matching tre­at­ment at Swiss Der­ma Cli­nic: Tum­my Tuck (Abdo­mi­no­plasty)