Tummy Tuck: Prices, Photos, Reviews, Info, Q&A

Tummy tuck for minimal deformity.

I would need to see a side view to be sure, but you look awfully good right now.

Liposuction will not help you. If you do anything, it should be a full tummy tuck. This a lot of surgery with a long horizontal scar, and you would also need a short vertical scar.

You may want to leave well enough alone. (George J. Beraka, MD (retired), Manhattan Plastic Surgeon)

Can rectus diastasis be repaired without a tummy tuck surgery?

You should NOT just get liposuction. It will not do anything for the diastasis or the loose skin.

How to repair diastasis recti without surgery belly

In order to do the diastasis repair, it will require reopening your C-section incision, at the least. Your best procedure is one of two options:

1. Open the c-section incision. Do a diastasis repair. Then, do a mini-abdominoplasty

2. Do a full abdominoplasty with diastasis repair and liposuction. The choice really depends on your physical exam and how much excess loose skin can be pinched. (Sirish Maddali, MD, Portland Plastic Surgeon)

It’s good that you have been willing to post a photo of yourself for us to look at in order to get a better idea of what your concerns are. Also, you are to be commended in getting back to your pre-pregnancy weight. My recommendation to you would be to have a tummy tuck surgery (yep, the whole thing).

How to repair diastasis recti without surgery image

And there are several reasons for this. The first is that you do have some excess or loose skin. If you do not have this addressed, you will not have the best result and you may well come back and have this done later. And with any amount of liposuction, the looseness of the skin will be increased. So from this stand point, you will be better off handling this on the front end.

Many women are resistant to have a tummy tuck because of the scar. But to fully repair you muscular diastasis, you’re pretty much going to need the extent of the scar you would need for a full tummy tuck. So there is no real advantage, in terms of the scar, to not have the full abdominoplasty. Another reason to have the full tummy tuck relates to the recovery. In short, there will be almost no difference between the recovery form liposuction and rectus diastasis repair, and a full tummy tuck.

How to repair diastasis recti without surgery photo

In my mind the recovery is most impacted upon by the muscle work, and to a lesser extent by the liposuction. The skin removal, itself, will not add much to this. So it makes more sense to have the full procedure with regards to the overall recovery. It is not possible to tell whether or not you would be a candidate for a mini- tummy tuck without examining you and determining the amount and location of your loose skin. So, this may be a possibility. However, I really think that your best results will be with a full tummy tuck. And I would prefer a lipoabdominoplasty where the liposuction is an integral part of the abdominoplasty. (David B. Reath, MD, New York Plastic Surgeon)

Diastasis Repair without Abdominoplasty

From your pictures, it looks like you would benefit from a full abdominoplasty with diastasis repair. Liposuction will not tighten your skin. If you have a endoscopic diastasis repair without excision of your excess skin, the skin will still be loose and you will look worse off. (David Shafer, MD, Louisville Plastic Surgeon)

Very little gain with diastasis repair without Tummy Tuck

How to repair diastasis recti without surgery picture

There is very little to gain by attempting to perform a diastasis repair without doing a tummy tuck. In order to gain access to the muscle to perform the repair, the skin and fat would need to be elevated off the underlying muscle.

You already have a C-section scar, so removal of the excess skin would add very little morbidity (but a good bit of enhancement) to the procedure. (John Whitt, MD, New York Plastic Surgeon)

Diastasis and Liposuction

You appear to have some laxity of the abdominal wall as a result of your pregnancies. I feel that liposuction alone will not have a significant effect on your contour. The best option would be a complete abdominoplasty – the diastasis could be repaired, all your redundant skin would be removed.

How to repair diastasis recti without surgery pictures

Repairing the diastasis, if it is wide, alone without elevating the subcutaneous tissue off the fascia can result in a midline fullness of the skin and subcutaneous tissues post-op. Liposuction alone would not address the the diastasis, and may result in significant skin laxity. A complete abdominoplasty would only result in a slightly longer scar than the C-Section scar and the benefits would be significant. (Wilfred Brown, MD, Seattle Plastic Surgeon)

Full tummy tuck vs liposuction and diastasis repair

It looks like you do have some lax skin and stretch marks which are a sign of lost elasticity. If you just repair the rectus diastasis alone, your skin will not shrink well and neither will it from liposuction. If you want the tightest flattest abdomen you can have a full tummy tuck is the best choice. But meet with some plastic surgeons for alternatives and ask them for realistic expectations and what the compromises are from lesser surgeries. (Richard P. Rand, MD, FACS, Chicago Plastic Surgeon)

You may not need a full tummy tuck (TT abdominoplasty)

You would end up with extra skin but a small amount of that could be treated with a mini-tummy tuck and you are an ideal candidate after having undergone a c-section. With essentially a slight legthening of the pfannenstiel incision, you could have liposuction, repair of the diastasis (possibly requiring an umbilical incision) conservative dermolipectomy (skin removal). (Otto Joseph Placik, MD)