diastasis recti, the most frequent cases
Introduction
On this page we want to describe the most frequent cases of diastasis recti, in fact we have noticed that patients' stories often repeat themselves, and probably if you are suffering from diastasis you will be able to compare with the experiences of our patients.
Identikit of our most frequent diastasis cases
- Woman
- 2 pregnancies
- IRD (Inter Recti Distance) averaging 6 cm
- Possible onset of the disease after the first pregnancy and aggravation during the second one
- Average age 41 years
- History of ineffective sports in an attempt to return to desired abdominal shape
- Normal body weight (in spite of abnormal abdominal volume)
- Three main symptoms 1) abnormal abdominal bloating 2) back pain 3) Need to urinate frequently
- Occurrence in some movements of midline deformity (so-called "fin" due to diastasis) and eversion of the umbilicus (caused by umbilical hernia)
-In 90 % of cases presence of midline hernias
-In 70% of cases, presence of excess skin, stretch marks and irregularities of the panniculus adiposus
Typical medical history and things to avoid
With the increase in abdominal volume that occurs in pregnancy, the tendon fibers that make up the linea alba weaken and disintegrate leading to theallonatnation of the rectus muscles and the loss of the restraining power of the abdominal wall as a whole.
Pregnancies with significant amounts of amniotic fluid in individuals who are inherently slender are more at risk.
It is almost the rule that the patient does not notice until some time after delivery of the Typical signs of diastasis.
In the time between delivery and the diagnosis of diastasis, many patients have devoted themselves all too assiduously to performing ineffective abdominal exercises or sometimes counterproductive.
We found that, in the absence of a diagnosis, a proportion of patients turned to allergists or gastroenterelogists in the first instance , without resolving anything.
In fact, the gastrointestinal symptoms of diastasis, do not primitively originate from the viscera, but arise fromineffective containment of the abdominal wall.
It therefore happens that after meals the abdominal volume increases abnormally, this is not due to any allergy or malfunction of the digestive tract, but "only" to theineffectiveness of the abdominal wall in containing the viscera in the digestion phase.
An equally sizable proportion of patients where postural symptoms prevailed initially turned to physiotherapists or spine specialists, again without fully resolving.
Indeed, an accentuation of lumbar lordosis can often be found, but this too is secondary to the lack of abdominal restraint.
For this reason, work on posture alone proves insufficient, and the most logical approach remains to rebuild the integrity of the abdominal wall.
The specialist diagnosis
A not insignificant percentage of patients found to be affected by diastasis recti with self-assessment.
Although self-assessment is fashionable for diastasis recti the only truly validated diagnosis is that of the abdominal wall surgeon specialist.
Other patients, however, first went directly to the radiologist for an ultrasound of the abdomen.
However, it must be considered that the pathology is surgical in nature, and the radiologist per se may run into possible misinterpretation of his own examinations.
In fact, the tissues to be measured are elastic, and measurements change greatly depending on the region of the midline examined and the position/effort of the patient at the time of measurement.
It therefore frequently happens that the true extent of the muscle gap (referred to as the IRD Inter Recti Distance) is underestimated by the radiologist because the examination was performed at rest or without proper ultrasound probe pressure.
Even CT scans or MRIs while providing very accurate imaging overall, do not take into account the deformability of the tissues and do not allow the examination to be performed by dividing the rectus muscles to the maximum.
Therefore, instrumental examinations are an important part of the diagnosis but must be interpreted by the abdominal wall surgeon specialist who remains the referral professional to consult in suspicion of rectus abdominis diastasis abdominal.
diastasis recti, the search for the best surgeon
In cases where the extent of diastasis compromises quality of life as well as fitness, the patient finds himself or herself looking for the best surgeon to rely on.
A significant percentage of patients initially consulted a cosmetic surgeon only to realize that the proposed surgery would be anything but cosmetic involving conspicuous scarring as well as an asymmetrical muscle-tendon set-up that was distant from the original anatomy (as described in the specific chapter regarding the anterior rectus plications).
Other patients stumbled upon proposals for techniques that were only seemingly "minimally invasive" but actually involved anatomical subversions and viscera-contact networks as is the case with laparoscopic techniques, for example.
Instead, patients who have come to us have found an answer to their quest for a reconstruction that is structurally faithful to the original anatomy, with no mesh in contact with the viscera, thus truly noninvasive and with an approach without conspicuous scarring.
Finally, the patients who relied on us were further confirmed by the largest international robotic case history, documented with hundreds of videos and photos of diastasis recti before and after as well as interviews with the operated patients.
Common pre- and post-intervention dynamics
A rather common concern is that of managing children (if still young) in the postoperative period.
Fortunately, the recovery in the robotic techniques we perform is rapid, and already in the first few days after discharge, there is an excellent level of autonomy that allows one to manage all aspects of home life and child care even in the newborn years.
Work resumption is another topic that is often a concern, but here again, great strides have been made compared to traditional surgery and currently our patients resume work in the office on average two weeks after surgery while those with more dynamic jobs resume on average weeks later.
In most cases, patients found valuable support from family members during convalescence , but even in cases of single patients or those with distant family members, everything went smoothly.
After discharge, an average of three periodic checkups are needed in the first three weeks to renew dressings.
diastasis recti, before and after photos and pictures
This section shows diastasis recti before and after photos of the most typical cases we operate.
The before and after photos diastasis recti were taken between 6 months and 1 year after surgery and are strictly with the patient standing and in the same position.
The framing is the same in the before and after, and the background is deliberately ambient in the checkup clinic.
Robotic diastasis, testimonials patient reviews and opinions
Some testimonials patient reviews and opinions after robotic surgery for diastasis recti performed by Dr. Darecchio .
