Mini tummy tuck pictures » Tummy Tuck: Prices, Photos, Reviews, Info, Q&A

Mini tummy tuck? Hoping for Maxi results?

Liposuction removes fat (deflates loose skin, making it looser, and dependent on the inherent elasticity of the previously-stretched skin for any kind of reasonable result).

That’s why evaluation of the location and amount of fat, in conjunction with the underlying muscle tone and overlying skin elasticity is needed to answer whether or not lipo alone is helpful.

And, of course, there is still that intra-abdominal contents component, and just how much stretch your abdominal wall (such as with pregnancy or previous increased wieght) was subjected to.

Mini tummy tuck pictures image

Muscle repair is almost always beneficial (which is indeed different from “needed”), and a mini tummy tuck usually does not involve muscle repair above the umbilicus. See how many women here on RealSelf ask about the “bulge above their umbilicus” after even “regular” full tummy tuck when complete and proper muscle repair is not done! It is seductive to think of the reduced cost and the shorter scar associated with a mini tummy tuck. But when the incision is too short, dog ears result, and you know waht the solution for dog ears is?

(HINT: It’s excising the dog ears and making the incisions longer on each side, which is what should have been done in the first place.)

Mini tummy tuck pictures photo

Then there’s the tethering of the umbilicus with a mini, making it look weird, or the umbilical “float” with the mini, making it look unnaturally low (also very weird). There’s a reason full abdominoplasties have umbilical transposition, muscle repair, and long(er) incisions to remove all the loose skin – it’s an inherently better operation for the majority of women!

Without a personal examination I would not totally discount a “mini” in your case, but in general, this is an operation that appeals to patients but has little application for most women with your anatomy. Get a few more opinions from ABPS-certified plastic surgeons with lots of experience. (Richard H. Tholen, MD, FACS, Minneapolis Plastic Surgeon)

Very few people are helped by mini tummy tuck.

Mini tummy tuck pictures belly button

1) It is hard to be sure just from pictures, but I doubt you would be happy after mini tummy tuck. The problem is not so much the muscles, but that most women have some loose skin above belly button, which mini does not correct.

2) Mini is mostly a marketing idea. It is not much less surgery than a full tummy tuck, and the results are not as good. (George J. Beraka, MD (retired), Manhattan Plastic Surgeon)

You do not appear to have much loose skin, and so a mini tummy tuck may be enough. It is also possible that liposuction would be enough to give you a good result. To give a proper opinion your surgeon must also feel your abdominal muscles and skin to gauge the looseness of both. (Cory Goldberg, MD, Toronto Plastic Surgeon)

You do not seem to have a lot of skin above your belly button, so you would be a good candidate for mini tummy tuck with liposution to the abdomen and flanks. I disagree on your muscles though, I think you would benefit with muscle tightening, but this can be done through mini.