Liposuction with JPen without a tummy tuck - will I just be wasting money?

Dear ldoyle80,

based on your photos, you look like a good candidate for a TT. Full tummy tuck should tighten your abdominal muscles and remove the excess skin. Flanks liposuction would give you a better shape. I would suggest you to consult a board-certified plastic surgeon because only after a thorough examination you will get more information and recommendations.

Daniel Barrett, MD
Certified, American Board of Plastic Surgery
Member, American Society of Plastic Surgery
Member, American Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery

Hi, thank you for sharing your question. You are a better candidate for 360 Lipo + tummy tuck to avoid skin laxity and postop wrinkled skin.

Liposuction with the Bodytite/Quantum/Morpheus do so well that we don't need to do tummy tucks anymore. It is so much safer and less pain and quicker recovery. From the photos, you would do so well with the lipo and skin tightening bodytite, quantum/morpheus and it is very affordable.

You do have excess fat and liposuction would be helpful. However, liposuction only removes fat and the skin may hang. You are young enough that if you wear a compressive garment after liposuction the skin will contract. A tummy tuck will remove the skin and fat, it more effective but does leave more of a scar. A tummy tuck will probably leave you with dog ears laterally and you will need liposuction at the same time as the tummy tuck.

Best Wishes,

Gary Horndeski, M.D.

Your liposuction will thin your fat deposits under your skin and make you thinner from that standpoint. Points to consider are: if you have increased visceral fat, the fat around your intestines, this will not be treated, and unfortunately as we age no one’s skin gets more elastic, so you may need to accept some laxity of your skin after your liposuction. How much laxity you may encounter is difficult to predict, however, from your photographs I don’t notice any tissue which is hanging, so this would be in your favor. Have a detailed discussion with a plastic surgeon so that realistic expectations can be created for you.

It is very likely that you may end up with very satisfactory result after aggressive liposuction. However, nobody can predict how well your skin would retract. It takes at least 6 months after liposuction for skin retraction and over a year for result of liposuction to mature. Hope this helps. Good luck.

Thank you for your question and photos. Based on these photos, I would recommend VASER Hi Def liposuction 360 degrees (full abdomen, waist, hips, pubic area, full back, lower back fat pad, waist, hips, lateral chest wall). This is not fat reduction only liposuction that most surgeons and non-surgeons do. As a Total Definer surgeon, I use advanced liposuction techniques (both deep and superficial) to define the underlying muscle and bony anatomy to create an hourglass figure. Will you also need J-Plasma or Renuvion for abdominal skin tightening (?), is best assessed via a physical examination. I do these surgeries in our accredited in office surgical suite under deep intravenous sedation and tumescent anesthesia. See a board certified plastic surgeon experienced in advanced body sculpting techniques for an in person consultation/evaluation. Good luck.

Liposuction with or without J-Plasma will not be enough. I do don’t think you will be satisfied. You will still have excess skin after lipo. You will still have a fold on your lower abdomen and love handles. Your belly button will continue to frown because of the excess skin above it. With the tummy tuck recovery is just a little bit harder, but pain is actually less. It hurts less then a liposuction because during the tummy tuck we cut all the nerve endings. This means most of the area will be numb!

Best of luck on your tummy tuck!
Dr. Miguel Mota

From the submitted photo it appears you have excess fat and skin as well as abdominal wall laxity. Liposuction will address the excess fat but may leave loose skin. J Plasma will help with tightening the skin some. However neither will address the muscle wall. A tummy tuck is your best option.

The liposuction will remove excess fat, but cannot address weak abdominal muscles or internal fat. EMSculpt could later be added to treat the weak muscles without surgery.