Pittsburgh Plastic Surgeons

How Does a Doctor Decide if You Need a Tummy Tuck or Mini?

I've had two pregnancies which have left my lower abdomen all the way up to my navel with stretch marks and loose skin. I also have scaring on my navel from a piercing and laparoscopic surgery. I am fit and active, I have flat abs but I have a lot of excess skin which is noticeable when I bend over and when I lay on my side (like an empty pouch/deflated balloon) I am planning on having surgery in early 2012 and I guess my question is would I need a tummy tuck or mini tummy?

If the picture associated with your question is you as you look now, I might not recommend any surgery.

The best measure of permanently damaged skin are  stretch marks.  If the skin is damaged all the way to the navel, you need a tummy tuck. Rolls of loose skin across the lower abdomen can also be an indicator for permanently damaged skin. However they also occur temporarily early after everyones pregnancy and can resolve over a 6-12 month period.  Rolls also occur with weight gain, and those are better treated with weight loss or liposuction.

A mini tummy tuck may help the occasional patient with minimal skin damage but patients with stretch marks near the navel have not been as happy with the mini procedure in my experience.

My questions to you are how long since your last delivery? And, how bad are your stretch marks?

Raymond A. Capone, Jr., MD

Pittsburgh Plastic Surgeon

Heat or Ice for Liposuction Swelling?

Will Heat or Ice Help with the Lipo Swelling?

For the first few days after liposuction surgery cooling LOCALIZED areas that are particularly sore or swollen has been helpful to many of my patients. It is best done by placing a bag of dried beans in your freezer, then after a half hour of cooling in the freezer, applying the bag over your pressure garment at the particular site that feels sore or swollen.

Raymond A. Capone, Jr., MD

Pittsburgh Plastic Surgeon

I Don't Want a Lift, Will an Implant Alone Be Beneficial?

I am 5'7", 125 lbs, and a 34B (measured at ps consult). I have had 2 consults, with 2 different suggestions. I am not interested in a lift so I would like to know if it will benefit me to haves implants alone. I do have sagging due to breastfeeding. One surgeon recommended a lift now with implants in 6 months to a year, while another suggested 375-400cc implants only. I am afraid that implants of this size will make me larger than I want to be. I would not like to be bigger than a D.

Combining a small breast lift with implant insertion would provide you with your best outcome.  Implants alone, of a size that you find comfortable, are a reasonable second choice. There would be a small amount of sagging that would persist with implants alone, but  I'm not sure you would notice it.  You can always have a lift in the future if you decide you need one.   I would not advise that you start off with a breast lift alone.

Raymond A. Capone, Jr., MD

Pittsburgh Plastic Surgeon