Abdominoplasty Scars

To answer this question, it helps to first know what a “Traditional” abdominoplasty entails. All traditional operations result in a scar that is somewhere at the level of the bikini line: Mini Abdominoplasty – a c-section length scar that allows for tightening of the abdominal muscles, but does not significantly tighten the abdominal skin. Standard Abdominoplasty – Hipbone to Hipbone length scar. This allows for tightening of the muscles and all of the skin on the abdomen. Extended Abdominoplasty – Scar runs from the back hipbone, around the front, and to the back hipbone on the other side. This allows for tightening of the abdominal muscles, the abdominal skin, and the flank & lateral thigh. Effectively, the extended portion of this operation is a Lateral Thigh Lift. Circumferential Abdominoplasty – (aka ~ Body Lift) – The scar runs all the way around the torso. It does everything an extended abdominolpasty does, but additionally performs a Buttock Lift. A Reverse Abdominoplasty performs the same tightening of the abdominal muscles and skin as a Standard Abdominoplasty, but instead of the scar being at the level of the bikini line, it runs around the level of the breast crease or ribcage, crossing the midline. This operation really only makes sense for patients who already have a significant pre-existing scar in this location (such as resulting from an “Anchor” incision breast reduction, or an open gallbladder operation.) If you have no existing scars on your abdomen, I would not consider this operation.