Dr. Larry Schlesinger: Hi. I'm Larry Schlesinger, and I'm a board certified plastic surgeon from Honolulu, Hawaii. Today the question is,"How much does a tummy tuck cost?" The answer is, well, that depends.

First of all, it depends on the elements. The elements in the tummy tuck, as in any surgery, are the cost of anesthesia, the cost of the O.R., and the cost of the surgeon.

The cost depends on the quality of the surgeon, the length of time that's going to be spent doing the tummy tuck. The skill of the surgeon has an awful lot to do with...because you want this done right the first time.

Tummy tucks repair the muscles, tighten the skin, put a great looking belly button without any visible scars, in a location that looks good when you're wearing shorts and a halter top.

Tummy tucks are a great operation to give post-pregnancy women back the life they had. Therefore, finding the best plastic surgeon to give you the best surgery at a reasonable cost makes a lot of sense.

In Hawaii, tummy tucks go anywhere from about...10,000 is really cheap...and $15,000 is just a tad expensive, so someplace between those two numbers rests what I would consider to be a reasonable tummy tuck cost.

Factors that Affect the Cost of a Tummy Tuck

In this video, Dr. Larry Schlesinger explains the factors that affect the cost of a tummy tuck and what you can expect.