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Can You Do an Extended Tummy Tuck with a Butt Lift to Remove Stretch Marks on Sides?

I am planning on getting a "mommy makeover" this year and am hoping on having a tummy tuck and breast augmentation. I am concerned about stretch marks on my love handle area. Would it be possible to extend the tummy tuck to remove stretch marks here? I have a fair amount of extra skin on my hips and butt. I would rather have the one scar from the tummy tuck them all the stretch marks!

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19 Doctor Answers | Asked by 8789anon in Seattle, WA

Doctor Answers (19)
Community Comments (1)

Seattle mommy makeover

From your photo it would not be possible to extend your scar and remove all stetch marks. Since this wouldn't remove them all, it would be better to just do a regular tummy tuck and keep the scar more from hip bone to hip bone.

Can an Extended Tummy Tuck with a Butt Lift Remove Stretch Marks on Sides

While an Extended Abdominoplasty COULD be done, the reason (or as we call it the indication for having it done) you want it, the removal of all stretch marks, is not achievable. You have widespread stretch marks without a corresponding excess of skin. This limits the amount of skin that can be removed without risking too much tension on the wound and wound disruption. Dr. Peter Aldea

Removing stretchmarks

Removing stretchmarks is possible only be cutting them out. It is certainly possible to extend your tummy tuck incision however looking at your pictures it looks like your stretchmarks are very long. Thus unless your skin is very elastic and all the stretchmarks can be cut out and then the skin can be closed (which I don't believe is possible), your suggested procedure would not remove all the stretchmarks. Sincerely, Martin Jugenburg, MD

Extended tummy tuck

WIthout an exam it is hard to say what would benefit you, but certainly if you have significantly lax skin laterally along your hip and buttock region, an extended abdominoplasty or even a circumferential lift can be performed to remove some of the lax tissue with the stretch marks.

Steven Wallach, MD

12 reviews

Manhattan Plastic Surgeon

Surgical excision of stretch marks.

The only way, unfortunately, to remove a stretch mark is to excise it. It is certainly possible to extend the incision to encompass some of your stretch marks, but from your picture, it would be impossible to remove them all. I have done body lift procedures on many patients with your figure and it is a very powerful way of shaping your figure as well as removing excess skin and lifting the butt. You will need to consult with a surgeon who is experienced in doing these procedures... more

Extended tummy tuck and buttock lift with breast implant augmentation.

Absolutely! An extended tummy tuck with breast augmentation is possible.To some degree, you are describing a near circumferential belt lipectomy. Some surgeons use the skin and fat that would be removed as a graft to enhance the buttocks. There are risks to any procedure especially major procedures and these should be discussed with your surgeon. see video

Otto Joseph Placik, MD

32 reviews

Chicago Plastic Surgeon

Extended tummy tuck to remove stretch marks

There are a umber of different techniques available to remove excess fat and skin from the abdomen and hips, and certainly it may be possible to extend the tummy tuck incision laterally to remove additional skin from your flanks and hips. You should discuss your wishes with your plastic surgeon prior to the operation so that the appropriate preparations and markings are made.

Extended tummy tuck

Based on the photo and information you provided, you are an ideal candidate for an extended tummy tuck. The incision is extended past the hips to help remove some of the stretch marks in the flank area. A tummy tuck involves repair and tightening of the rectus muscles, removal of loose, excess skin, and some liposuction to improve body contours. I would recommend consulting with a board certified plastic surgeon to discuss the best and safest possible options for you. Recovery time... more

Stretch marks

The Idea is good and surgically can and frequently done. You streatch marks extend in a wide area, it is immpossible to remove all. Plus the fact that you do not have excess skin. Though there is no treatment for streatch marks you can try two things 1: Retin A for a long time 2: find a plastic surgeon with FRACTIONAL CO2 LASER and try fractional co2 laser on one or two of the stretch marks, if you like the results proceed. Will be very expensive

Won't really help you

Extending the incision of an abdominoplasty helps remove excess skin, stretch marks, and lifts the thigh a bit as well. From your picture, though, your stretch marks are pretty spread out and you do not have that much extra skin. I do not think the extra length of scar will be worse the minimal result you will achieve.

Not a good candidate in this case

Yes, You can extend the scar from an Abdominoplasty to help compensate for additional skin folds that patients may have and to also help remove stretch marks from the areas you are concerned about. However, I do not see that you are a good candidate for this procedure as you do not have addtional skin in this area to be removed and the amount of stretch marks we could remove in your case would be very minimal.

Mommy Makeover and Scars

That is a fairly common request for women considering the "mommy makeover." Extending the lateral margins of the incision to excise stretch marks and excess skin is very effective at addressing this problem. As you have already pointed out, the only downside is a longer scar over the lateral abdomen and flank. Best wishes, Dr. Bledsoe

Love handles stretchmarks and extended abdominoplasty

When I see patients for a tummy tuck I make sure the sideward extension of the incision at least reaches the extent of the skin fold if one is present. You do not have sufficient excess abdominal skin to have such a fold. Therefore you are not really a good candidate for the extended abdominoplasty (extended towards the back) or a belt lipectomy type of procedure. Of course this is not an absolute without a face to face examination to verify just how much extra skin is present. You also need... more

Cosmetic Surgery is an Art and a Science

Sure you can have an extended tummy tuck. In my experience what limits the stretch mark removal is the amount of extra loose skin.More loose skin equals a larger skin resection to remove the stretch marks. Consult a board certified plastic surgeon in your area. All the best

Stretch marks

The only way to remove stretch marks is with an excision. This means we are replacing one scar with another which is better and more concealed. I don't think you will benefit from a circumferential excision. You are thin with a good figure and the tummy tuck with the abdominal wall tightening and the well concealed scar will do you a world of good

Can You Do an Extended Tummy Tuck with a Butt Lift to Remove Stretch Marks on Sides?

The only way to make a stretch mark disappear is to excise it. If your extended abdominoplasty procedure is marked so that the stretch marks are removed with the specimen then you will have no stretch marks. Unfortunately sometimes the marks are so widespread that the stretch marks cannot be removed without fear of closing the tissue safely.

Belt lipectomy

You may be a nice candidate for a belt lipectomy or circumferential abdominoplasty procedure in which a "belt" of excess skin is removed from both the front and the back of the lower torso. Whether or not your stretch marks would be removed with this surgery would all depend on your physical exam. Consider having a consultation with a local plastic surgeon who can demonstrate what can and can not be removed with this procedure.

Extended Tummy Tuck

This is a great question! I perform at least one “Mommy Makeover” almost everyday of my practice and I never get tired of seeing the incredible change that occurs with correction of so many of the effects of pregnancy. Breast surgery (augmentation or lift) and tummy tucks are the two most common procedures performed and are usually performed simultaneously. I do a procedure called an “extended abdominoplasty” that is exactly as you described…..... more

Removing stretch marks on the hips with extended tummy tuck

From your picture, it appears that your stretch marks extend from your hips down to your thighs. Some of these stretch marks could be removed by extending the tummy tuck scar but not all of them. The trade-off for removing relatively few of these stretch marks would be the scar from the extended tummy tuck. You will have to weigh the pros and cons of which you would rather have.

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Comments (1)

EvaLuna11 16 Aug 2012

I see you had asked this question 2 yrs back. So what did you opt for and how has the result been after 2 years? Are you happy with your decision? Any learnings you would like to share. A recent pic would be greatly appreciated. Btw, I would just like to mention that in the pic you look pretty slim and apart from the stretchmarks, you have a great body. Not sure if tummy tuck was required. If I had your body, I would just try to do something about the stretchmarks with lasers, etc.

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