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

If you can’t stretch your skin a centimeter I seriously doubt you need a tummy tuck. Without photos or an exam I can’t say much more than that. Resident clinics are good but just remember they are just that – teaching clinics. We all had to start somewhere. You just can’t expect the same level of result with that from a Board Certified Plastic surgeon who has been out in practice for a while. (Ronald Schuster, MD, Baltimore Plastic Surgeon)

Liposuction or tummy tuck decision requires an informed decision.

An experienced Plastic Surgeon who performs body contouring surgery all the time will be able to advise you best. Loose skin and/or loose abdominal fascia and muscle is best solved with a tummy tuck.

The tummy tuck and lipo cost

Localized fat with average to firm skin is best treated by liposuction. Skin tightening after liposuction is better using the latest SmartLipo technologies.

However, the degree of skin tightening achieved after any liposuction procedure may still fall short of what is needed to produce a smooth and firm result. Unfortunately, SmartLipo and other liposuction technologies are being offered to patients inappropriately and ofter being performed by providers who are not able to offer a tummy tuck when this is what is needed.

Your consultation should provide you with advice about the best option as well as your alternatives. Furthermore the risks, costs and limitations of each approach should also be discussed so that you can make an informed decision. (Mathew C. Mosher, MD, )

Lipo or tummy tuck? How to determine the best option

Tummy tuck and lipo cost image

Liposuction and tummy tuck (abdominoplasty) both remove localized fat that is out of proportion to the rest of the body and resistant to change with exercise and diet. If there is loose skin then a tummy tuck is the way to go, because no version of liposuction will tighten the skin enough to be a true alternative.

Be very wary of claims of skin tightening with laser lipo. The other thing that a tummy tuck does is re-align the muscles in the middle of the abdomen if they have separated from prior pregnancy (it is called a rectus diastasis.)

This is another thing that exercise won’t be able to correct. So the bottom line is see a plastic surgeon and make your decision based on expert advice from someone who has seen you personally. (Richard Baxter, MD, Seattle Plastic Surgeon)

Tummy tuck vs. liposuction

Tummy tuck and lipo cost photo

Unfortunately, without a photograph at minimum, it’s impossible to evaluate objectively whether you are a candidate for liposuction or a tummy tuck. If you have too much “belly fat”, then suction alone may result in sagging of the abdominal area and this may be the reason that the plastic surgery resident recommended a tummy tuck. I would suggest that you see other physicians in consultation and then process the information provided before making a decision. (Robert L. Kraft, MD, New York Plastic Surgeon)

Difference between tummy tuck and liposuction

Tummy tucks address excess skin and a bulging abdominal wall (including the separation of the rec ab you listed above). It is also helpful in removing stretch marks (which you don’t have). Tummy tucks do not address excess fat layers except in the areas where the skin is removed. Liposuction addresses excess layers of fat and is able to contour body areas that have too much bulk. Ideally liposuction patients are at their ideal body weight and just need some help contouring an area that hasn’t responded to diet and exercise.

Tummy tuck surgery and lipo cost

It does not tighten the abdominal wall and it does very little to help the skin shrink unless you are having SmartLipo or laser lipo etc. Smartlipo and laser lipo give a 25-50% increase in skin shrinking over traditional liposuction alone.

In my Salt Lake City cosmetic surgery clinic I frequently have to help people understand this difference. The decision is usually made after I examine and speak to the patient and understand what it is that they expect from the procedure. (Richard H. Fryer, MD, Salt Lake City Plastic Surgeon)