Is a Tummy Tuck Right for Me?

By George Weston, MD

Austin-Weston The Center for Cosmetic Surgery

. https://www.austin-weston.com/

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Is a Tummy Tuck Right for Me?

There is a lot of confusion about tummy tucks. One of the most common questions is, “Do I need a full or mini-tummy tuck?”

Here are a few guidelines for you to figure out what procedure will work best for your needs.

If you've lost over 100 pounds, you're going to need more than a tummy tuck you're probably going to need a body lift. What's a body lift? A body lift not only tightens your abdomen, but it also lifts the buttocks.

If you don't like the looseness above your belly button, you need a full tummy tuck. The reason for that is the skin needs to be pulled all the way down like a window shade, and a new belly button will need to be created in the process. If the muscles don't need to be tightened, the procedure is called a “skin-only tummy tuck”.

If you have tight skin above the belly button, but loose skin below, you need a modified tummy tuck. In this version, the belly button is “floated” off of the abdominal wall to allow for muscle tightening, then put back down a little bit lower than it was before.

If you only have a little bulge in the lower abdomen, you might get away with a mini-tummy tuck. In this version, a small incision like a C-section incision is used to expose the abdominal muscle and tighten it. There is not a lot of room to remove skin with an incision this small, so the number of people for whom this is appropriate is small.

If you have already had a tummy tuck and are still bothered by loose skin in the upper abdomen, you might be a candidate for an unusual surgery called a “reverse tummy tuck”. This is where the skin is lifted up from underneath the breasts and the scar is hidden in the breast fold.

Finally, if your muscles are tight and the skin of your upper abdomen isn't loose, you might be a candidate for liposuction alone. If your skin is a bit loose in the lower abdomen, liposuction can be accompanied by taking out a little strip of skin near the panty line. This is called liposuction with a skin strip.

A consultation with a board certified plastic surgeon would provide the best options for you.