Full versus Mini Abdominoplasty
I believe a mini tummy tuck will not address your upper abdominal bulge and will leave you with loose skin above your belly button. In order to obtain a youthful hourglass figure, you should consider a full abdominoplasty with muscle plication.
It is important to consult with 3 board certified plastic surgeons to help you make the most educated decision. I would not let photos or stories of a full tummy tuck affect your decision.
All of the complications with a full tummy tuck can occur with the mini also. As your surgeon, I would be more concerned about giving you an unsatisfactory result with a mini tummy tuck, not the full. I wish you a safe recovery and wonderful result. (Paul S. Gill, MD, Houston Plastic Surgeon)
Most patients want to keep the tummy tuck scars as small as possible, so I understand your dilemma. The truth is that a full abdominoplasty or tummy tuck will always give a much better result than a mini tummy tuck.
You have three factors that cannot be properly addressed with a mini abdominoplasty:
- Excess abdominal skin
- Diastasis of the recti (separation of the rectus abdominus muscles)
- Stretch marks
A full abdominoplasty will address all three. (Frank Agullo, MD, El Paso Plastic Surgeon)
Mini tummy tuck
I think mini tummy tucks are excellent, for the right candidate. It just doens’t seem that you are a great candidate for it. You wil very likely end up wishing you had done the full tuck so that your skin flap will be nice and snug when you sit or crouch down. Best wishes, (Ricardo A. Meade, MD, Dallas Plastic Surgeon)
After viewing photos i think the best procedure for you would be a full tummy tuck and I would tighten your abdominal muscle which is common after multiple pregnancies. (Robert Brueck, MD, Fort Myers Plastic Surgeon)
There is NO WAY a mini will get you the result you are looking for. You need a full abdominoplasty. If your surgeon tells you a mini might work, I honestly would get a second opinion. (Lisa L. Sowder, MD, Seattle Plastic Surgeon)
Shall I have a Mini Tummy Tuck or a Full Tummy TucK?
There is NO doubt in my mind that a Full Tummy Tuck would be the best option for you.
For the the SAME uterus that stretched your skin and cracked it (stretch marks) to do this stretching and damage, it first had to seriously and permanently stretch and split your tummy muscles which are deeper to the skin. As a result, the solution does NOT rest in fixing only the superficial damage (skin) but in first fixing the deep damage to the muscles.
A full muscle tightening WILL totally flatten your tummy (better than you ever had it) and narrow the waist. This would require a full tummy tuck. As you can also see, you have excess skin OVER your belly button, that can only be removed with a full Tummy Tuck as well.
A Mini Tummy Tuck does NOT remove more skin than a Full Tummy Tuck. It removes much less. You have a great figure and a Full Tummy Tuck in you would most likely give you a fantastic result. Do NOT compromise for a lesser operation with much lesser results! (Peter A. Aldea, MD, Memphis Plastic Surgeon)
Why you need a regular tummy tuck and not a mini tummy tuck
Here are the reasons why you need a regular (full) tummy tuck and NOT a mini tummy tuck: You have too much loose abdominal skin: a mini tummy tuck uses a small incision (similar to a C-section incision). If you have a significant amount of excess skin, it is just not possible to remove what is needed through a short incision. Therefore, the short incision limits the amount of skin that can be removed.
If you have loose skin above the abdomen, such on photos (I can tell because your navel has the typical upside down “U” appearance): a mini tummy tuck does not have any effect on loose skin above the navel. Why? Because with a mini tummy tuck, the navel stays attached to the surrounding skin. The navel is also attached to the abdominal wall, so when the the loose skin is pulled downward, the navel acts as a tethering point that prevents the upper abdominal skin from moving with the lower skin. The tethering effect of the navel ALSO limits the amount of lower abdominal skin removal, but in a good candidate for mini tummy tuck, this should not be an issue.
Sometimes a surgeon will ‘float’ the navel, which means it is detached from the abdominal muscles so that it can move down and also have some effect on tightening the upper abdominal skin; this maneuver is limited to a few centimeters because the navel can only move so far before it starts to look too low.
You have a lax abdominal wall: looking at your photos, there is a suggestion that the abdominal wall has been stretched (there is some bulging). Plication of the wall is most effective when the entire abdomen is plicated.
With a mini tummy tuck, only the muscle below the navel is plicated. This usually results in insufficient lower abdominal wall plication, as well as the potential for bulging in the upper abdomen. Therefore, if you have any significant abdominal wall laxity, a mini tummy tuck does not provide sufficient tightening. Bot tome line: mini tummy tucks are great operations in the proper patient.
The number of good candidates for mini tummy tuck are actually few and far between. Don’t equate a mini tummy tuck to a full tummy tuck with shorter incisions; they are very different operations for very different problems. (Lawrence Tong, MD, Toronto Plastic Surgeon)
You will be very disappointed with a mini, you have to much loose skin. If you have the mini and not happy you can not convert to a full. The belly button may die if the belly button was cut during the mini, which is most commonly performed. (Miguel Delgado, Jr., MD, San Francisco Plastic Surgeon)