Do I need another tummy tuck or will LIPO do? (Photo)

Procedures should be based on a clear understanding of what the problem is. In other words before prescribing an operation a correct diagnosis needs to be made.

Abdominal contour is affected by skin laxity, subcutaneous fat, the shape of the muscle wall and potentially excess visceral or intra-abdominal fat.

Skin laxity is more likely to be a cause for your abdominal bulge then subcutaneous fat.

The easiest way to differentiate skin versus subcutaneous fat it’s a lift up and put the skin under tension. If this makes the area flat then it is more likely skin related. If putting the skin under tension doesn’t change the contour very much then it is more likely to be related to subcutaneous fat or the shape of the muscle wall.

My best guess is this is related to skin laxity.

Sometimes patients need to step back and look at their before pictures and recognize that overall the improvement is substantial even though there may be minor imperfections.

Skin laxity issues are not well treated with liposuction.

The decision of what is the best procedure needs to be made based on what the problem is.

Whether redoing the entire tummy tuck or part of it is justified or not it’s something you will need to discuss during consultations.

The same goes for attempting to correct this with Liposuction which may or may not be useful.

Best,

Mats Hagstrom MD