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

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

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