Issaquah Tummy Tuck doctors

Yes, the only way to gain access to the full abdominal wall in order to repair any significant diastasis recti is by a full tummy tuck.  A lower tummy tuck does not offer access to the upper tummy, and if you just tighten the lower tummy fascia/muscles the upper tummy can bulge out more.  Rarely, in a patient with very little excess skin and a high belly button, I have done an umbilical float to raise the belly button from underneath in order to gain access to the upper tummy, repaired the diastasis recti, and then reattached the belly button a little lower.  This has worked well, BUT is not a good idea in someone with more than a mild amount of skin excess (and it can be surprising how much skin excess there is once the fascia is tightened back where it belongs) or in a patient whose belly button is not high to begin with...otherwise lowering it will look weird.  So I emphasize that it is the RARE patient for whom this may be a reasonable option.  Generally, a full tummy tuck is required.

It is possible that you had a seroma (collection of serum or fluid beneath your "flap"), and this is what the surgeon would have been trying to remove with a needle 3 times.  They sometimes re-accumulate and require repeated aspirations with a needle or even a return to the operating room for placement of a drain.  If not treated, over time you can form a lining to that fluid cavity that is thickened as well as containing some fluid, and this can cause protrusion of your tummy.  One way to diagnose this would be to have an ultrasound exam of your abdomen.  If you have a fair amount of fluid present or a thickened cavity lining, you may benefit from a surgery to remove that cavity. 

Although you did not post a photo, if you have lost 75 pounds, the loose hanging skin will not be improved by working out, of course, and will require a tummy tuck.  If you are planning to lose another 23 pounds, you should probably lose most or all of that first.  The thinner you are, the tighter, flatter tummy you can expect after a tummy tuck.  Now this assumes that your goal weight is a low enough weight that you are a candidate for a tummy tuck.  In other words, if a person weighed 350 pounds and their goal weight was 250 pounds, they still may have too much thickness of subcutaneous fat AND excess intra-abdominal fat to be a good candidate for a tummy tuck.  So your goal weight, though it does not have to be your ideal weight, should be low enough to make you a proper candidate for the procedure.