Full Tummy Tuck
I think the best way to address the skin excess and muscle weakness of your abdomen would be with a full tummy tuck. The mini would not allow your surgeon to remove enough skin to give you a good result. Also, your upper abdomen could be tightened with a full tummy tuck. (Gary Lawton, MD, FACS, San Antonio Plastic Surgeon)
Do I need a mini tummy tuck or a full tummy tuck?
If you have a skin overhang, stretch marks along with moderate diastasis. Full tummy tuck will be your best option along with liposuction to your hips and flanks. I recommend a consultation in person for proper evaluation and advice. (Maan Kattash, MD, FRCS, Los Angeles Plastic Surgeon)
Mini tummy tuck versus full
Not only do you need a full tt but from the one photo submitted, I belive you probably need a lower body lift. Check my site for more information on this.Peter Fisher M.D. (Peter Fisher, MD, San Antonio Plastic Surgeon)
Do I need a mini tummy tuck or a full tummy tuck?
Based upon the photograph you show you’ll receive the most benefit from a full tummy tuck. A mini tummy tuck will not provide any tightening of the skin above your belly button and will pull the belly button down to it abnormally low position.
Please choose a board certified plastic surgeon. for more information on tummy tuck surgery please read the link below. (Brooke R. Seckel, MD, FACS, Boston Plastic Surgeon)
Full or Mini Tummy Tuck?
You would definitely benefit from a standard tummy tuck! The photo you provided demonstrates an abundance of skin that will be removed with the tummy tuck operation. Additionally, you likely have some relaxation of your abdominal muscles after two pregnancies. With a full tummy tuck, your plastic surgeon will be able to tighten up these muscles and give your abdomen a flatter appearance. Definitely meet with a board certified plastic surgeon to find out more! (Joshua Cooper, MD, FACS, Seattle Plastic Surgeon)
From the pictures provided, I would suggest a mini tummy tuck with tightening of the muscles of the lower abdominal wall to flatten out the area of prominence. Your down time should be about a week. (Joseph N. Togba, MD, Oakland Plastic Surgeon)
The muscles in the lower abdomen can be approximated through a small incision. Often, a small curving incision around the upper umbilicus allows access to the lower portion of the muscles of the upper abdomen. Liposuction is helpful. Avoidance of excessive fat removal is necessary so you do not have rippling of the skin that is not stretched. Each patient must have a tailored plan specific to the patient. (H. Michael Roark, MD, San Diego Plastic Surgeon)
Many doctors write on this site that mini tucks aren’t generally suited to most patients but you are the expection. You should do well with a mini tuck and flank liposuction. If you are planning more children, you might consider holding off on surgery but otherwise the proposed operation should give you an excellent result. (Robert L. Kraft, MD, New York Plastic Surgeon)
Full or Mini Tummy Tuck?
From your photos you look like you woud be a good candidate for a lower or mini tummy tuck. You do not have what looks like any significant skin excess above your belly button and the BB itself looks pretty good. A mini tummy tuck would only tighten skin from the BB down. You do look like you could benefit from a muscle plication to flatten the tummy.
If a mini tummy tuck is done, one must be conservative with this so that tightening the lower abdominal muscles does not “pooch” out the upper abdominal muscles that are not tightened. However, in patients who would benefit from a full tightening of the muscles, upper and lower, but who do NOT have any loose skin above the BB, it is possible to access the upper muscles for repair without converting to a full tummy tuck by releasing the BB from underneath just for access, and following the muscle repair, reinsert the BB right where it was. Although we might call this an “umbilical float”, in this case we would not be lowering the position of the BB. In any event, in your case, it looks like a mini tummy tuck would be a good option. (Robert M. Grenley, MD, Seattle Plastic Surgeon)
This question is pretty hard to answer without doing my own exam on you. It is important to the surgeon to be able to know the thickness of your skin and depth of the fat underneath it as wellas what shape your muscles are in. But just judging from the photos you could get the skin pulled downwards, have some liposuction around the middle of your abdomen and avoid a long scar.
This will not change the overall shape of your muscles but it will get rid of the extra skin and the recovery time will be much shorter. If you are planning to have another baby soon however you should probably not do anythinng until the babies are done. (Phillip C. Haeck, MD, Seattle Plastic Surgeon)
You may be one of the few patients who has a very nice results with mini tummy tuck surgery. Ideally you would have tummy tuck surgery after completing any more pregnancies you are planning on. Accurate advice will be very dependent on direct physical examination and communicating your goals. For example, if your goal is to have as flat and abdomen as possible with essentially no remaining abdominal wall laxity than a full tummy tuck would be necessary. Generally speaking, the mini tummy talk is an operation that produces very limited results and is very rarely indicated. It involves a shorter incision but does not address the majority of the abdominal wall issues present for most patients who present consultation.
For example, the area of skin excised is quite small. The abdominal wall musculature is addressed below the umbilicus leaving the upper number wall potentially lax. The appearance of the umbilicus is not necessarily addressed sufficiently. Most patients who have had pregnancies and/or weight loss a full abdominoplasty is necessary to achieve the desired results.
Of course, there are downsides (including a longer scar and probably a longer recovery time) but for most patients the benefits outweigh the downsides. It is not unusual to see patients who’ve had mini tummy tuck surgery present for revisionary surgery. Is important to work with a well experienced board-certified plastic surgeon to obtain advice (based on good ethics and judgment) to improve your chances of a successful outcome and minimize the need for further surgery. (Tom J. Pousti, MD, FACS, San Diego Plastic Surgeon)
Your upper tummy skin looks pretty tight. i don’t think that skin is going to make it all the way down which means that you would end up with a vertical tummy tuck scar somewhere below the belly button. It looks like you would get most of your improvement from the lipo. (Ronald Schuster, MD, Baltimore Plastic Surgeon)
When to consider a mini vs full tummy tuck
No one can give a definitive recommendation without a hands-on exam, but there are a few guidelines to consider. Most patients will get a better result with a full tummy tuck, but when the skin laxity is only in the lower part of the abdomen and the belly button is high (as it appears to be in the photo) then a mini could be a good option.
It would be combined with liposuction if necessary, and might be done with an “umbilical float” which moves the belly button lower by about an inch. This allows for a little bit of skin smoothing on the upper abdomen. The other important variable is whether the muscles have been separated (rectus diastasis.) This would be repaired with either a mini or a full, and it is the muscle repair that most impacts the recovery time, not the shorter scar from less skin removal. (Richard Baxter, MD, Seattle Plastic Surgeon)