4 children, stretch marks, sagging skin - Mini or full tummy tuck? (Photos)

It is difficult to see from photos how much overall skin laxity that you have. A mini abdominoplasty would only address excess skin to lower abdomen. A full Abdominoplasty would allow more correction, muscle repair and revision of your piercing scar. An in-person consultation will help you feel more comfortable with your plan moving forward.

My advice is to find a board certified plastic surgeon near you who performs a lot of tummy tucks. Schedule a consultation with them. They will take a history from you, perform a physical exam, then discuss tummy tuck options including mini versus a full tummy tuck. Based on your history and pictures submitted, it looks to me that you would do better with a full versus a mini tummy tuck. This would have the advantage of removing more skin, achieving a greater degree of tightening as well as removing the piercing scarring above your belly button. Hope this helps. Good luck!

Hello,
Thank you for the question. Based on the photos, a full tummy tuck with muscle repair is the best option.
I wish you the best.
Vasileios Vasilakis, MD, FACSDouble Board Certified Plastic SurgeonHouston, TX.

With a mini tummy tuck, you are correct that it would address some of the excess skin at the lower part of the tummy. And correct, it would not change the scar from your belly button ring. A mini tummy tuck would not remove a lot of the stretch marks that are present. With a mini tummy tuck, you also wouldn’t get much tightening of the abdominal wall muscles.
If you want to remove the stretch marks, remove the scar from the belly button ring, and flatten the tummy as much as possible, then a full tummy tuck would be the way to go. Obviously, the tradeoff there is a longer scar along the bikini line.

Dear michaelabarber1,


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

Examination would allow me to give the best recommendation. If you are muscles do not need tightening, it seems you might do well with a so-called mini tummy tuck, but you would need quite a long scar tighten the extra skin if it extends toward your hips. There are a lot of things to consider here, and a board certified plastic surgeon would be able to perhaps lay out a few possibilities.

In my experience, a mini tummy tuck does not give full results. It sounds appealing, but only treats the lower belly and can distort.

Usually, a standard tummy tuck will remove lower skin stretch marks, loose skin and tighten muscle. This will give the flattest tummy. We try to keep the scar as low as possible.

An exam and consultation with a plastic surgeon is recommended to confirm this and discuss your options and expectations.

Hello,
Thank you for your question. After multiple pregnancies, most patients develop not only loose skin in the lower abdomen but also muscle separation and bulging in the upper abdomen. From your description, this is likely the case for you as well.
Because of this, a full tummy tuck would give you a much better and more complete result. A mini tummy tuck only tightens a very small area below the belly button and does not repair the upper abdominal muscles — which is often the main reason for the “stomach sticking out” appearance after pregnancy.
A full tummy tuck allows us to:
Repair the abdominal muscles from top to bottom
Remove stretched, damaged skin (including many stretch marks)
Remove or reshape your old piercing scar
Create a flatter, smoother and more defined waistline
A mini tummy tuck would not correct the upper muscle separation and would likely leave you unhappy with the final contour.
Based on your history and concerns, a full tummy tuck is the more appropriate choice and will provide a much more satisfying and long-lasting result.
Warm regards,Op. Dr. Yücel Sarıaltın

Based on your concerns, a mini abdominoplasty is likely suitable if most of the loose skin and stretch marks are below the belly button. With this approach, can also perform a revision of your umbilical piercing scar for a smoother result. A full tummy tuck is only needed when there is significant upper abdominal laxity.

From the submitted photos you look like a good candidate for a standard tummy tuck. It appears you have muscle separation both above and below the belly button which is common with pregnancy. A standard tuck would be able to address both areas, while a mini could only address the lower portion. In addition excess fat and skin would be removed. The result would be a flatter, tighter tummy, the stretch marks would be removed, and your piercing addressed. I've included a video I hope you find helpful.