Perfect for Tummy Tuck

Michael A. Bogdan, MD answers: Concerns about tummy tuck for stretch marks

I am considering getting a tummy tuck, My problem is not a loose skin or loose muscle but a severe case of stretch marks from hip to hip and aprox 2 inch above my belly button down to the upper part of the pubic area. My stomach is over all flat but do have loose skin I have a 10year daughter, I have low body fat, and I'm at my ideal weight. I just hate the unsightly stretch marks.Being that I am my ideal weight and dont have tooo tooo much skin to play with with I see good results? I am undergoing lipo in certain areas, perhaps this can loosen up more skin? I have seen before and after pictures but cannot seem to find pictures that I can relate too (stretch marks more than fat). What are your thoughts?


Michael A. Bogdan, MD
7 months ago

You look like a perfect candidate for a tummy tuck!  A tummy tuck does 3 main things:

  1. Remove excess abdominal skin
  2. Improve your profile view by pulling in the abdominal wall
  3. Improve you waistline by pulling the muscles toward the midline

The amount of skin excess you are showing would lead me to think I could remove skin from your belly button down to the location of a C-Section scar (about 1/2 your abdominal skin).  To be certain, you would need to be examined, and the elasticity of your upper abdominal skin judged.  With this in mind, you could expect all lower abdominal stretch marks to disappear.  The ones that are above the level of your belly button would still be there, but they would migrate down to the lower abdomen.  After surgery, you would probably not have any stretchmarks over your new belly button.

Do not let anyone liposuction your stomach skin.  One of the side effects of lipo is that it creates scar below the skin surface.  For pure lipo, this is a benefit, as the contracture of the scar improves the lipo results by tightening.  If you are planning to do a tummy tuck, this tightened scar limits the stretch of the skin, and you will not be able to remove as much skin as you could have if lipo was not done.

You do not have much fat to get rid of, and a tummy tuck alone will give the appearance of fat removal.  (Doubling the length of your abdominal skin will effectively thin it by half!)

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