You will benefit the most with a full abdominal plastic surgery. You have lax muscles and the best way to tighten them is through full exposure to be able to tighten them appropriately.
A mini abdominal plastic surgery will make you mini improved a full abdominal plastic surgery you will be fully happy! Make sure you go to a Board Certified Plastic Surgeon who does many of these.
Make sure he does lipo of the flanks as well to bring the sides in. You will do great. (Andrew T. Cohen, MD, Beverly Hills Plastic Surgeon)
Mini- abdominal plastic surgery vs. Alternatives
My personal opinion is that the Mini-tummy tuck procedure, in which a small amount of skin is removed from the lower abdomen and the muscles below the belly button are tightened, is a poorly conceived operation which in most people will not result in the positive change desired.
In fact, in most people it causes UN-desirable changes – Think of your abdomen as an inflated balloon. Now imagine that you squeeze one end of the balloon. what you would expect to happen is that the other end, the end not being squeezed, will expand and become larger, right? This is similar to what I have seen many times in Mini-tummy tuck patients- the tightening of the lower abdominal muscles only temporarily succeeds in improving the body contour- after some time passes, the increased upper abdominal pressure results in an increased roundness in the upper abdomen that the patient always ends up displeased with. For these reasons, I won’t do mini-tummy tucks anymore.
There are, however, much better alternatives, even for people who don’t have enough skin to undergo a “full” abdominal plastic surgery. These alternatives offer the ability to completely re-shape the abdomen, above AND below the belly button, and truly give you the beautiful and sculpted long term outcome you desire.
The most important thing is to first find a surgeon certified by The American Board of Plastic Surgery that you like and feel you can trust and work successfully with, who has a large amount of experience with the many alternative tummy tuck options available nowadays.
How best to determine this? Ask which board certified him/her, ask to see photos of prior patients who have had each alternative technique performed, and maybe even to speak to a few former patients about their experience and their outcome. If you encounter resistance or they are unable to show you photos, or if the photos don’t show a result you would be happy with, try somewhere else. I think what you want can be achieved, but you need to be patient and find the right surgeon for you. Finally, a word of caution- this is not a situation where it would be in your best interests to try to find the lowest price- you are interested in a sophisticated professional service, and should be looking for the professional who can safely give you the outcome you want. (Armando Soto, MD, FACS, Orlando Plastic Surgeon)
Full abdominal plastic surgery.
You would look great with a full abdominal plastic surgery. A mini will leave you disappointed. You not only have excess skin but the muscle above your belly button looks weak and needs to be tightened as well. Endoscopic surgery can tighten the muscle but you still have the excess skin to remove. I also think that a small amount of liposuction on the lower sides would really help and is usually part of the abdominoplasty procedure. (Kari L. Colen, MD, New York Plastic Surgeon)
In my opinion, from the brief history and photo you have provided, you would do very well with a mini abdominoplasty. There are variations of the mini that can tighten your muscles as well, but involve more work on the surgeons part. Certainly, you do not need the typical hip to hip scar associated with a full abdominal plastic surgery. (Kenneth R. Francis, MD, Manhattan Plastic Surgeon)
Modified abdominal plastic surgery (short-scar) Probably Best
We make recommendations after evaluating 3 components; skin, fat & muscle. We would need to see you in-person to really give you the best advice, but based on your photo you skin looks excellent, you have modest subcutaneous fat, the intra-abdominal fat is difficult to assess, and the abdominal wall looks lax.
Your procedure should include tightening of the full length of the abdominal muscles and fascia (fibrous layer). It could be combined with liposuction of fat (possibly including your flanks). Relatively less skin removal may be needed, so your final scar might be half the length of a full abdominoplasty, but longer than a c-section scar.
The umbilical base would be tightened, and it would be replaced in a similar location. This is sometimes called a “lipo-abdominoplasty”, and other surgeons have come up with brand names for similar procedures. Each procedure we do is customized for each patient. (Sutton Graham II, MD, Greenville Plastic Surgeon)
A full abdominal plastic surgery
In looking at your photo, it appears that there is some laxity of the upper abdomen as well as the lower abdomen. In order to address the laxity as well as the skin excess from having children a full abdominal plastic surgery or tummy tuck would be required.
Certainly you could have a mini abdominal plastic surgery but it would not address all the areas adequately and you might be unhappy with the result sin the end. However you need to see your plastic surgeon and be examined as there may be some other subtleties that I cannot tell from the picture.
You may be able to float the umbilicus and get a good result from a mini its just hard to tell from your picture alone. (Charles Perry, MD, Sacramento Plastic Surgeon)
Mini vs Full “abdominal plastic surgery”
Judging from your picture you would definitely benefit most by a full tummy tuck. If you are going to undergo a procedure under general anesthesia and you want maximum benefit, the risks are minimally increased but the benefits for you would be more apparent. Your picture suggests that the muscles of the abdomen are stretched above and below the belly button (umbilicus) and attention needs to be directed to the full abdomen. With any major surgical procedure it never hurts to get a second opinion, or even a third, and make sure you feel comfortable with the surgeon of choice. Always discuss not only the potential for signifcant improvement in appearance, but you need to know what the risks are and how often they occur. A full physical exam is essential as well. Only then can your surgeon tell you what is best for you but you unltimately must weigh the risks versus the benefits. However, most people are quite comfortable with proceding. (Theodore Katz, MD, FACS, Philadelphia Plastic Surgeon)