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Tummy Tuck: Full, Mini or Endoscpic?

asked 1 year ago by fort lauderdale2598 in fort lauderdale, FL
Latest answer by Leif Liu Rogers, MD
Question viewed 375 times
Tags: female, comparison, endoscopic, muscle tightening, umbilical hernia

I have been to three consultations and I received three different options on what to do. My muscles are split apart but I have only a little loose skin. Most of the loose skin is below the belly button and I also have a umbilical hernia.

Not sure what the best option would be for me. I have been told that I can do a full, mini or endoscopic tummy tuck. The last Dr I went to recommended a mini but I'm not sure if that will help the muscles above the belly button. Thanks for any help!

11 answers to Tummy Tuck: Full, Mini or Endoscpic?

+2

You need a full tummy tuck for your best result.

From your photograph and your description, you have not only an umbilical hernia, but also fairly broad diastasis (stretching and widening) of your rectus sheath (the fascia or "gristle" that envelops the rectus or 6-pack muscles) that extends well above your umbilicus. You also have enough loose skin (or WILL, once the diastasis is repaired) that both endoscopic and mini tummy tucks will fail to adequately address. I must respectfully state that yours is not even a... more
Richard H. Tholen, MD, FACS

Minneapolis Plastic Surgeon

www.mpsmn.com

+1

Best abdominoplasty technique for you

It seems, from your picture, that you do not need a full tummy tuck.  You don't have enough laxity above the belly button.  It can be difficult to appreciate the amount of loose skin you have below the belly button in a picture like the one you posted.  If you have significant skin below the belly button, then mini-abdominoplasty with plication of the muscles of the upper abdomen should be done.  If you have NO loose skin, then you can do a endoscopic type of... more
Leif Liu Rogers, MD

Beverly Hills Plastic Surgeon
+1

Choosing a tummy tuck.

For your situation, you will most likely get the result you are looking for from a full tummy tuck. This allows for the best repair of the muscles as well as removing all the excessive skin. A mini will not address upper abdominal laxity and the endoscopic is only for muscle repair without skin removal.
David Bogue, MD

Boca Raton Plastic Surgeon
+1

You need complete muscle repair. This can be done through a mini tummy tuck incision!

Hello from Miami! Thank you for your message and your photo. From your history and description of your tummy, it sounds like you would benefit from a complete muscle repair- a repair above AND below the belly button.  Although somewhat more difficult than a regular tummy tuck, this can be done through the small incision of a mini tummy tuck. We have performed this complete muscle repair through inicisions as small as 5.5 inches.  The best way to find out what procedure... more
B. Pat Pazmino, MD

Miami Plastic Surgeon

www.miamiaesthetic.com

+1

You need a full tummy tuck

You are the a good candidate for full tummy tuck. You have sever diastesis and the rectus muscle should be repaired all the way up to xiphoid. Your have higher risk of belly button loss.
Kamran Khoobehi, MD

New Orleans Plastic Surgeon
+1

Full tummy tuck is your best option

From your history and the photos you provided, I think full tummy tuck with repair of the umbilical hernia would be your best option. Mini TT will not tighten the muscles and will leasve you with a bulge that you will not like.
Moneer Jaibaji, MD

San Diego Plastic Surgeon
+1

Full tummy tuck for most patients.

Your instincts are correct: anything less than a full tummy tuck in your situation is not going to give you complete correction of your problems. Your umbilical hernia would be corrected at the same time. Be sure to go to a Board Certified Plastic Surgeon and look at results of his/her past patients with similar problems as yours.
Victor Au, MD

Chapel Hill Plastic Surgeon
+1

Tummy Tuck Choice

Three different techniques can be used in performing a tummy tuck: skin removal, liposuction, and muscle wall plication. What you need is dependent upon what you have and what you want to accomplish. An endoscopic abdominoplasty can tighten the muscle wall from pubis to xyphoid as well as reduce fat volume with liposuction. A miniabdominoplasty does the same but also removes a small amount of skin in the lower abdomen. A full abdominoplasty does the same but removes a large amount of skin... more
Marc Schneider, MD

Fort Myers Plastic Surgeon
+1

Only a full abdominoplasty will help.

Hi. Endoscopic abdominoplasty does not work and I don't know anyone doing it.  Mini will not correct upper diastasis.
George J. Beraka, MD

Manhattan Plastic Surgeon
+1

Full

A full tummy tuck should fix all of your problems and I am sure you have plenty of excess skin. None of the other two will fix everything.
William B. Rosenblatt, MD

New York Plastic Surgeon
+1

Yours is really NOT a complicated tummy tuck choice

Some doctors will tell you what they think you want to hear rather than what you actually need if they are afraid they will lose you as a patient.  My suspicion is that this is the case with the 2 doctors who recommended less than a full tummy tuck to you.   The reason that you are not a good candidate for a miniTT is that your muscles are stretched well above the umbilicus and this won't be addressed in a typical mini so your upper abdomen will be bulgy with a mini.... more
Richard P. Rand, MD, FACS

Seattle Plastic Surgeon

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