Tummy tuck vs liposuction
The reason you are getting so many different answers is because you fall in that questionable category. In my opinion you do not have enought fat for liposuction and doing any kind of liposuction that claims you will have enought skin tightening is far from the truth.
A tummy tuck will remove the loose skin you have and may be an option for you but difficult to say without really rexamining you and seeing your abdomen as a whole and how high your belly button is from the pubis area.
So lipo is out and tummy tuck may be in with a proper exam. DO NOT DO MESO or any other chemical treatment! (Farbod Esmailian, MD, Orange County Plastic Surgeon)
Best option for stubborn belly and flanks fat on healthy 40 year old.
I recommend Smart Lipo with traditional liposuction clean up of the melted fats. I would use the MPX unit on it’s highest setting for the better skin contraction. As for a tummy tuck whether mini or full, I can not be sure if you are a candidate for those operations from only one photo. For sure not a full tummy tuck, but maybe a mini TT. Forget about these injection therapies (mesotherapy, lipodissolve, carboxytherapy) or cool laser light therapies (Zerona), they are a waste of time, monies, and the first group HURT. (Darryl J. Blinski, MD, Miami Plastic Surgeon)
Let’s understand something. You’re pursuing this, and have asked this question, because you are interested in looking your best, right? I bet it’s also safe to assume you are interested in keeping yourself safe and avoiding injuries or deformities you may regret the remainder of your life. For Heaven’s sake, PLEASE do not let anyone inject chemicals under your skin (mesotherapy, lipomelt, etc).
Because I assume your goal is to get the best possible outcome, I would advise you to consider an option that includes skin tightening- the idea that you will experience significant skin tightening via ANY type of liposuction is marketing fraud in my opinion. Remember- the only thing worse than being unhappy with your appearance is spending a lot of money, having surgery, and STILL being unhappy with your appearance! Have a procedure that is highly likely to give you a good outcome. (Armando Soto, MD, FACS, Orlando Plastic Surgeon)
Laser Liposuction may tighten
There are many ways to skin a cat! You are very skinny and the upright photo does not reflect the degree of skin excess as effectively as the sitting photo. I caution you to do liposuction as the flap of skin you have is very thin already and if the flap is made too thin you will have more visible irregularities. Also, considering the fact that you skin is loose , you may be disappointed in the lack of contracture of the skin. This is where the physical exam is very helpful.
If the primary problem is skin looseness an abdominplasty is the best procedure. It is correct, if you do not like the wrinkles above the belly button when sitting, the only way to effectively address these is to do an abdominplasty to release the skin and re-drape it downward or upward. If the primary problem is the tiny bulge in the middle but the skin looseness is tolerable a laser liposuction will be a good option. I have Smartlipo and this does a nice job. It is supposed to tighten more than traditional lipo and my experience would confirm this for the most part. It is not a miracle procedure, the skin’s ability to contract is the ultimate determinant of how effectively any lipo or laser liposuction will work. (Kimberley O ‘ Sullivan, MD, Wellesley Plastic Surgeon)
Fine tuning your abdomen with liposuction would do great.
You would benefit with the fine tuning that liposculpture does to your abdomen. It is easy and not overkill as a tummy tuck would be nor unsafe as those mesotherapy sessions are. (David Hansen, MD, Beverly Hills Dermatologic Surgeon)
Many options for your belly
Obviously you fall into a catagory that has no “right” answer, given all the different opinions you are getting. The final answer lies in what you want and what you are willing to do and give as a trade. If you want your skin as tight as possible you will need to do a traditional tummy tuck.
Downside:recoevry time and scar, relatively higher complication rate If you are willing to compromise some upper abdomenal skin loosenes the a mini tummy tuck with liposuctioning would work. If you are willing to accept the possibility of additional loose skin the liposuctioning with a laser would be best. The techniques of carboxytherapy and mesotherapy are best avoided until there is further research on them (John P. Stratis, MD, Harrisburg Plastic Surgeon)
Tummy Tuck vs Liposuction
I agree that your only options are tummy tuck or liposuction. I would steer clear of the other suggestions. Without an exam it is difficult to state with certainty which is the better procedure for you. I feel that a tummy tuck will generally give you a better result if you have sufficient extra skin. I would suggest another consultation with a Board-certified Plastic Surgeon. (John Whitt, MD, Louisville Plastic Surgeon)
However, there is slight looseness of skin and some fat in the abdominal area, plus you have probably noticed that your waist is wider since you had your child. It may be possible to have a full fascial tightening with a small excision of skin from the lower abdomen, conservative liposuction, and slight umbilicoplasty to give you your best result. That way you could avoid the hip to hip incision while still tightening the deep fascia and removing some excess skin. You could have liposuction alone but you would have to be very conservative since there is slight laxity of skin already present.
I would avoid hocus pocus procedures, melting fat with your clothes on, etc. (Brent Moelleken, MD, Beverly Hills Plastic Surgeon)
We can tell only so much from a picture, but it does appear that you have very little excess fat and mild skin laxity. With so little fat, liposuction is hard to justify although there may be some that isn’t well shown in the photo. An abdominoplasty sounds extreme to me based on what I see but then I haven’t examined you personally. I definitely agree that mesotherapy is very controversial and carboxytherapy is not well proven. The technology with the longest track record in the U.S. is Thermage which may your best choice. It produces more tightening when done immediately after liposcution so if you do have some fat to remove that would be a very good option. (Richard Baxter, MD, Seattle Plastic Surgeon)
There may be some refinement that can be provided via conservative liposuction. As your photograph does not reveal three dimensionality as well as an examination, I can not comment as knowledgeably without determining the amount of subcutaneous fat that exists. Thee may be external ultrasonic treatment that might give you improvement without surgery, but this device is in the final FDA testing process and there is no mention as to when it might be approved. The same is true for a cold energy device. You may wish to wait and see before considering surgery for so little an improvement. (Ronald Shelton, MD, Manhattan Dermatologist)
You’re receiving varied opinions because you do have some options, and the right one for you depends on what bothers you. If the loose skin really bothers you, then a tumym tuck is recommended. However, you look in this photo as if you have so little extra skin that I suspect a tummy tuck will be difficult to perform. If little areas of extra fat bother you, and I don’t see many of them, then liposuction is appropriate.
You could also consider one of the newer liposuction techniques, such as SmartLipo or SlimLipo, which has been reported to help with skin tightening as well. (Nina S. Naidu, MD, FACS, New York Plastic Surgeon)