Lipo After Tummy Tuck Rather Than In the Same Surgery Normal?

I had a TT w/ MR on April 10th. My PS did not do lipo at the same time. Said it would have been dangerous. A few days ago (3 months post op) I had lipo under local. Is this uncommon and are there any pros/cons to doing it later?

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10 Doctor Answers | Asked by Jgirl Florida

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Lipo-Abdominoplasty

In the past, combined liposuction with abdominoplasty had been associated with healing problems that were often due to the use of very large cannulas to remove fat, wide excessive undermining, and application heat (with ultrasound or laser) that damaged the blood supply of the tissues. Because of these healing issues, abdominoplasty and liposuction were done in stages and this conservative, safe approach is still done by many surgeons today. Over the... more

#Liposuction After #TummyTuck Rather Than In the Same Surgery Normal? ANS:

We surgeons are getting more and more comfortable with Lipo done at the same time as TT but in many cases, it is still better to separate them. So it is very normal to do them together or to wait but it depends on the doctor and your particular presentation....

Lipo and tummy tuck

This is a call that asurgeon makes.Eacj case is unique.I will genrally do lipo with my tummy tucks but not always.

Lipo After Tummy Tuck Rather Than In the Same Surgery

Depending on the extent of the liposuction and tummy tuck cases, they can generally be combined. However, with more involved cases, the two procedures are better performed in stages. Your surgeon should be able to explain why he/she felt that two stages were in your interests. see video

Tummy tuck and staged lipo

Some surgeons will do both at the same time. I usually will do a tummy tuck with liposuction of the flanks but will often do lipo of the central abdomen as a secondary procedure a few months later.

Steven Wallach, MD

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Manhattan Plastic Surgeon

Liposuction during Tummy Tuck Surgery?

Thank you for the question. Performing some liposuctioning during tummy tuck surgery is usually safe if done judiciously. The concern with overly aggressive liposuction surgery is the potential for compromising blood flow resulting in tissue necrosis and/or wound healing problems. Every surgeon must use his/her judgment as to how much liposuctioning (if any) can be safely performed during the tummy tuck procedure. If in doubt, it is best to stage the operations... more

Lipo and Tumy Tuck at the same time???

This has been a hotly debated topic in the plastic surgery community. While it has been shown to increase the rate of complications if performed together, other surgeons have shown that gentle liposuction can be performed safely together with a tummy tuck. It has to do with blood supply to the lifted tissue. During the Tummy Tuck, the skin/fat tissue is elevated and some of the blood supply disrupted. If one adds liposuction to this area, it theoretically can cause further disrupotion,... more

Lipo at the same time as tummy tuck is often OK

The safety of combining liposuction and tummy tuck at the same time has been demonstrated for healthy patients. This assumes that the two procedures are in different areas, not both on the front of the abdomen. Usually the flap can be thinned down so that lipo in the same area isn't needed there anyway. However, these are not comments on your specific case as I don't know the particulars.

Most of the time, tummy tuck and liposuction are done together.

Hi. There is nothing wrong with your surgeon's approach. It is very conservative. But doing a minimal undermining tummy tuck (which preserves the blood supply) lets us do the liposuction safely at the same time.

TT and abdominal lipo at the same time??

There have been a number of high profile catastrophes involving simultaneous liposuction and tummy tuck when liposuction is done to the lifted area. If the liposuction is done to the flanks or to an area not lifted off of the abdominal wall, most feel that it is safe. The reason it is an issue is because when the skin is separated from the underlying muscle, it loses much of it blood supply. When adding another "injury" such as liposuction, enough additional blood flow to the skin might... more