Mini Tummy Tuck: Stories

My navel wasn't touched, he left it in place and did muscle repair by sewing my abdominal walls back together. He did above the navel muscle repair and also the lower half. I am very satisfied with the results, but I am now wishing I had done a full tt. Even though I have the appearance of being flat, when I sit down, I still get about 3 rolls that make an appearance :( and yes I am working out like a freak. I do about an hr of intense cardio 6 days a week and I think what I have left is just extra skin. I'm so grossed out by those rolls. :((

I see. My stomach is similar to your, and my doctor wants to do a mini TT with lipo to upper & lower abs, lipo of the hips and flanks.

i also had mini ttdid your skin wrinkle when you bend forward to pick something off floor (straight down without bending knees)?

Good question... I have no clue- I didn't ask. Sorry I can't help with that question.

You look great! yes your scar looks nice....what are you using? and do you still feel tired....today did major cleaning and feel pooped...and kinda scared i did too much....oh yes do you still swell.?

Ty. I use mederma and bio oil 2-3 times a day. Today is 8 weeks exactly, and no I don't feel tired. I was extra super cautious this whole time. I did NOT want to rip or loosen my muscle repair, so I haven't done anything major- not even any kind of exercise... Which brings me to the swelling, I was told by the 2nd month it would be almost gone. I did notice the first 4 weeks I couldn't wear any of my regular jeans. I was really upset about that, but about week 5 I was soo happy to be able to button my jeans again. I did notice that at night I would be more swollen. But being week 8 today, I still look "swollen"- but I will attribute that to the not working out thing. Lol. But just this week I started weaning myself back into it, I want to achieve my "fit and toned" goal. I hope to post pics of my (hopefully) bikini body, in a couple months. Wish me luck :) haha I need it!

I'm so glad my post was able to help u :) and lol thanks- it's a bit longer than he said it would be, but that's ok. I am loving my results, and from what I hear, I am still swollen- so the results are going to be even better! Yes! But just wanted to let u know that since day 10 I have been putting "mederma" and "bio-oil" onto the scar on a daily basis about 2-3 times a day. I'm guessing that's why my scar is looking pretty decent so far. I have side view pics that I will put up- I think that shows a more drastic difference. My muscles were pretty bad, I always looked preggo :( but now I look un-preggo again for the first time in 5 years. It's wonderful!!!!

Your tummy is as flat as a board, it looks like it belongs to a teenager! I can't believe the doctor told you that the incision was a little longer than he hoped for because it is very short, even for a mini which is usually twice as long but still not as bad as the full TT which sometimes goes past the hip bone on either side. Nice and low too, it didn't even affect your tat. The whole result is gorgeous. Thanks for the tips on scar care (mederma and bio oil). I will definitely need to do something. I don't keloid but my scars last forever.

I'm not exactly sure how he did it, but from his background info, it looks as if he's very skilled and by my results, I have to agree, yes he is. His name is dr Ringler, and he is in GRAND RAPIDS, not the city listed on my post.. It was a mistake I tried to correct after the fact, but I can't change it now. But yes, it can definitely be done, but I'm sure it takes a very skilled and experienced ps. I love what my ps had done for me and I will highly recommend him.

Thank you, I finally feel great about myself again. I went to a couple of different plastic surgeons to get their opinions. The first one told me I needed a full tt, anything less would not make an improvement. I found my second surgeon by doing more research. His background history was impressive to me. He also said I needed a full tt at the consultation, but then he kept tugging and pinching my flab and said "on second thought, I'm sure you will get great results with a mini and muscle repair." So it wasn't exactly that I chose mini tt, but that I trusted the drs opinion. And yes, he did tighten my muscles, and he did do all the way to the top. He explained how he was going to lift my skin up but leave my belly button alone. He said I didn't have too much loose skin on top, so that made me a good candidate for mini. He did such a wonderful job that he didnt even disturb my tattoos. He had originally told me that the bottom half of my dragon and the little one would be removed. i was surprised to find them still in place and not distorted. Today is day 13 and I can still feel the tenderness in my whole abdominal area, top,bottom, and sides. I suggest trusting your drs opinion. If he/she suggests a full, you might want to stick to that. I've read a few posts w pics, where the people were not happy at all with the mini tt b/c it didn't make much of a difference. Good luck on finding your surgeon and getting wonderful results.

Thank u :) yes I am definitely happy with what I see so far. Then again I feel that anything would've been an improvement - even when I dropped all the way down to 102, that little preggo pouch never went away. Now I understand that was all b/c of the loose abdominal muscles. Anyway, so I'm feeling like a million bucks (not really, I'm still pretty sore, but I'm really lovin the tiny waist) only to be pleasantly surprised to find out my jeans can't button up. Yes, that's right- this made me even happier! Lol. I can't beleive I'm going to get even smaller. Wow! 3 months to keep shrinking, love it. Thanks for the heads up on that- I didn't realize it was that "quick" I was expecting at least 6 months. Can't wait to keep posting pics as it continues to go down.

The incision/scar is shorter, the skin above the belly button doesn't get disturbed, and they don't stretch as much skin down or make a new belly button hole with a mini tummy tuck. The full tummy tuck also requires more recovery time.

Thank you. As bad as the nausea was, I'd do it over again in a heartbeat. It's worth it to be able to love your body again.

I totally agree with you:)