I'm 8 months postpartum - mini tummy tuck or full? (Photos)

Hi, thank you for sharing your question. You are a great candidate for a mini-TT. The scar will be about 6-7 inches long and very low. This will allow you to remove the excess, wrinkled skin below the belly button and yield a great result.

a mini tummy tuck will improve your appearance but not as much as a more complete procedure. The later would allow greater skin resection.

Thank you for submitting your question and photos! By your photos, I would suggest getting a skin wedge done which will get rid of the small excess abdominal skin that you have. A skin wedge does not include muscle repair like a tummy tuck does. The incision for a skin wedge would be low on your abdomen and about as small/low as a c-section scar. I would recommend consulting with a board certified plastic surgeon like myself so we can create a surgical plan that is best for you and your goals!

A mini-tummy tuck is a good option for people who have loose skin limited to only the lower area of the abdomen and whose belly button already sits high. It will not address any laxity of skin above your belly button. It is also a good option for those who wish to avoid a scar around the belly button. From your photos, it looks as if most of your skin laxity is below your belly button, which also sits in a nice high position. You would likely be a good candidate for a mini-tummy tuck, but I would make sure to consult in person with a board-certified plastic surgeon who can review the trade offs of each option.

Thank you for your question regarding whether you should have a mini tummy tuck or a full tummy tuck after postpartum or after your delivery. Thank you for attaching pictures as well as your history. On profile view, your muscle seems to be intact. However, on the frontal view, you have a lot of wrinkled skin. The wrinkled skin is evidence of stretch marks. You are having your tummy tuck to get rid of the stretch marks. I would strongly suggest a full tummy tuck. A full tuck would eliminate more skin than a mini tummy tuck. As the name implies, a mini tummy tuck would only give you mini results. If you want more skin removed, go for the real deal—the full tummy tuck. The incision would be placed low, tissue dissection would be carried up to the sternum, and excess skin and fat from the top of the belly button to the upper pubic region would be removed. This would be the best surgery for you; I hope this information helps.
I specialize in reconstructive plastic surgery after weight loss. If you have any more questions regarding the lower body lift, 360 circumferential lower body lift, belt lipectomy, belt abdominoplasty, or belt dermolipectomy please contact my office. Since the body lift is a big procedure, please seek an experienced, board certified plastic surgeon with significant experience performing the lower body lift. Do your research. Make sure they have performed at least 100 circumferential lower body lift surgeries and have the before and after pictures to prove it. Carefully examine their before and after pictures and check their reviews on RealSelf.  If you cannot find an experienced, lower body lift surgeon in your neighborhood, consider traveling out of state if you must. Sincerely, Dr. Katzen. (“Verified” Plastic Surgeon, President of the American Society of Bariatric Plastic Surgeons, certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery, Fellow of the International Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, American College of Surgery, and International College of Surgery and ​member of the American Society of Plastic Surgery, American Academy of Cosmetic Surgery and RealSelf Hall of Fame.)

Hi ladylerm,
You are correct that one trade off with a mini tummy tuck is that the 6 pack muscles cannot be tightened (rectus diastases).
Understanding that, 6 pack tightening is not the only consideration in a tummy tuck. Mini tummy tuck is appealing to many patients because of the shorter scar. However, it is certainly a trade off because the mini tummy tuck produces less notable results than the full tummy tuck.
Looking at your photos, you appear to have skin excess in both in the area above the pubic hairline, but also some stretch marks and skin excess above the bellybutton. The mini tummy tuck would likely incompletely address the irregularities around and above the bellybutton, due to the more limited access and inability to fully undermined to that level.
Also, the mini tummy tuck will typically float the bellybutton, meaning that your bellybutton would be brought to a lower vertical position on your abdomen.
Ultimately, I would suggest meeting with a board certified plastic surgeon. He or she could discuss with you trade-offs of scar length versus final abdominal contour.
Hope this helps.
Hope this helps.
Sincerely,Christopher Pannucci MDBoard Certified Plastic SurgeonPlastic Surgery NorthwestSpokane, Washington

I think it depends on your goals. If you are bothered by the skin laxity and stretch marks above the belly button, you should plan on committing to a full tummy tuck. That is going to get you the best result. Good luck!

A tummy tuck can be performed to only remove loose skin. Because there appears to be loose skin above your belly button as well, a full tummy tuck would be more suitable for you.

Thank you for your question. Looking at the photos you have provided I would recommend a full tummy tuck. That will allow your Surgeon to work above the belly button area, tightening up the abdominal wall muscles, removing the extra skin and contouring the mid section. I would suggest speaking with a Board Certified Plastic Surgeon in person to evaluate you and discuss your options. Best of luck to you

Hi. In general, I would recommend a full tummy tuck. However, a mini tummy tuck is an option (and that can mean different things to different surgeons, so make sure to clarify that with your surgeon), but for me that would typically have a lower incision that is somewhat shorter and would not reposition the bellybutton or do any muscle tightening. As such it means that there is typically no meaningful improvement from the bellybutton upwards and just improving the areas below that. But to avoid an incision around the umbilicus and a larger surgery, that is not an unreasonable thing to consider. You may also be a candidate for a modified abdominoplasty where the bellybutton is floated, which means it is repositioned downwards a small amount so that it is still in a reasonable position and get a little bit more overall correction. I would recommend consulting with a board certified plastic surgeon with good experience with tummy tucks and body contouring to go over all of your options with you.
Good luck and take care,
Dr. Howell.