Am I a candidate for a mini TT? (photo)

Dear P,   Thanks for submitting your pictures. From observing your pictures it appears that you have skin and muscles laxity from the chedt bone to the pubic bone. Cosmetic surgery is supposed to improve your appearance and not compromize it. A mini tummy tuck will improve your lower abdomen, but you will have a bulge above the umbilicus that will even more noticeable when you are eating. So I am strongly against mini TT in your situation. I is better not to do anything than do it wrong. A full TT will flaten your belly, give you a narrow waist and most likely will cause you to lose a lot of weight which will make you healthy and better looking. Always, consult with board certified plastic surgeon and check their before and after pictures to make sure that you like the results. Also, make sure that their pictures are numerous and consistent and that they have good reviews.                  Best of luck,                                             Dr Widder

  These pictures suggest muscle laxity along the extent of the abdominal wall, and, as such, a full tummy tuck would produce a better result.  A minitummy tuck with plication is not unreasonable, but I do not believe it will produce as nice a result.  In addition, the amount of skin removed in a minitummy tuck without compromising umbilical position will limit the result as well.Kenneth Hughes, MDLos Angeles, CA

based on the photos provided it looks like a full tummy tuck is the appropriate choice but an in person consultation is required.Thank you for your question.

As others have answered here, a mini tuck
primarily address skin laxity and sometimes abdominal laxity below the belly
button. It doesn't do much for looseness or muscle laxity above the
bellybutton. A full tummy tuck handles this area better.

There are other variations that are less
well-known depending upon your goals and time for recovery.

For example a full tummy tuck can be done
without muscle repair for the appropriate patient.

A full muscle tightening can be done with a mini
tummy tuck skin excision or sometimes with no skin excision.

There are more extensive kinds of
abdominoplasty that remove even more skin in patients with massive weight loss
and severe laxity

The best way to approach this would be to learn
which option would best fulfill your needs.

A board-certified plastic surgeon can help go
over the options with you and address your goals.

You are correct in thinking that mini tummy tucks fix the abdominal wall below the belly button. When excess skin and muscle laxity are confined to this area, a mini tummy tuck will do a nice job. In looking at the curve of your belly, it starts at the pubic region and remains convex up to the ribs, and is most anterior at the belly button. The entire rectus sheath should be tightened, otherwise the lower abdomen would be flattened at the upper abdomen will stick out. If the roundness peaked below the belly button, and your abdomen was flat above your belly button, then a mini abdominoplasty would be a good choice. Since you do not appear to have an excessive amount of loose skin, a hybrid technique where the belly button is "floated" may also work. See a Board Certified Plastic Surgeon in your area for an informed opinion.

Thank you for your question and pictures.  Your question about how to treat loose skin and lax abdominal muscles after childbirth is very commonly asked in my practice. The main difference between a full and a mini tummy tuck is that a mini tuck does not place a scar around the belly button, and it also does not address the skin and muscle above the belly button.    Although a picture can only give limited information, from your picture it doesn't seem like you have much skin laxity above the belly button. So a mini tummy tuck may be an appropriate procedure for you if the muscles above the belly button are in good shape.Be sure to consult with a fully trained plastic surgeon to ensure that you get the results you desire. All the best!Ruth Celestin, MD

While you can choose a mini, most of my patients who have have multiples find that they have more skin excess above the belly button and require the full tummy tuck.This depends on your skin, and also how big you got-- and the size of your babies.Good luck.

Based only on posted photos you could be a candidate for mini TT. But again IN PERSON opinions BEST!!!!

Thank you for the question and pictures. Assuming you have completed pregnancies, you may be an excellent candidate for a full tummy tuck operation. Given your history and photographs, in my practice, I would not offer you the mini tummy tuck operation. In my opinion, the mini tummy tuck is an  operation that  produces very limited results and is very rarely indicated. It involves a shorter incision but does not address the majority of the abdominal wall issues present for most patients who present consultation. For example, the area of skin excised is quite small. The abdominal wall musculature, if re approximated at all, is addressed below the umbilicus only leaving the upper abdominal wall muscles potentially lax. The appearance of the umbilicus is not necessarily addressed sufficiently.For most patients who have had pregnancies (especially twin pregnancy) and/or weight loss a full abdominoplasty is necessary to achieve the desired results. Of course, there are downsides (including a longer scar and probably a longer recovery time) but for most patients the benefits outweigh the downsides. It is not unusual to see patients who have had mini tummy tuck  surgery present for  revisionary surgery. Best wishes.

The amount of excess skin typically determines
the length of the incision required to remove that excess skin. As a general
rule, a short incision only allows a small amount of skin removal. A longer
incision and resulting scar (as in a full tummy tuck) will allow the surgeon to
remove more skin and tighten the entire abdominal wall.  This is the
important thing to consider when looking at this type of surgery. Don't
compromise the results with a shorter scar if it won't deliver the results you
want. A consultation with a board certified plastic surgeon with an expertise
in tummy tucks and body contouring should be able to show you what you can
expect. In my practice in the San Francisco Bay Area I have come to the
conclusion that the happiest patients are those that have realistic expectation
on what a procedure will and won’t do for them. Good luck! Dean Vistnes.

I am happy to hear you are planning this procedure and doing your research on it. Find a Board Certified Plastic Surgeon in your area and make an appointment to be evaluated. A full physical exam is needed to truly help you decide what is best for you. That being said, based on your pictures I think a full tummy tuck will produce a better result. The mini tummy tuck would address the excess skin and muscle laxity below your belly button, but not around it or above it. It appears you have separation and laxity above and below and the full abodminoplasty will address that better. I hope this was helpful.