Do I have dog ears and need hip lipo after tummy tuck? (Photos)

Thank you for your question regarding whether you have dog ears after your tummy tuck and whether liposuction will help. Thank you for your history and your pictures. Examining your pictures, yes, you do indeed have dog years. Dog ears are excess skin and fat at the end of the incision. In my opinion, liposuction will make this area worse, not better. You have excess skin and fat. Liposuction will only remove the fat. Therefore, you need the skin removed. I would suggest the excision of your dog ears. Too excise your dog ears, the incision will have to be carried out over the hips and around towards the buttock. If your buttock bothers you, now is the time to do a buttock lift. In my opinion, you initially needed an extended tummy tuck or 360 circumferential lower body lift. Therefore, I would suggest surgical dog ear revision with excision. To accomplish this, the incision will need to be carried out over the hips and towards the back. Good luck. Please seek a specialist who concentrates their practice on 360 circumferential lower body lifts.

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Best,
Dr. Karamanoukian
Realself100 Surgeon6

Dear Carlych1,
I understand your concern. However, without a proper assessment, it would be difficult to determine what went wrong. It is best that you visit your plastic surgeon for further assessment or ask for a second opinion. Only after a thorough examination, you can get proper recommendations and advice.
Daniel Barrett, MDCertified, American Board of Plastic SurgeryMember, American Society of Plastic SurgeryMember, American Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery

Based on the images you have provided you may have benefitted from more aggressive flank liposuction in combination with your tummy tuck procedure. I often combine flank liposuction w/ skin tightening and vaser for those flanks so that when you get the tummy tuck procedure you have much better shape and a smaller tummy tuck incision (instead of having it wrap around). Unfortunately, you may have some skin laxity after aggressive liposuction at this stage and skin tightening may help although would not be perfect.

Hello @Carlych1, thank you for your question. It is important to take into account several aspects among which is the surgical technique applied, and wait at least 1 year to consider a new surgical plan. The best course of action is to consult one or several board certified plastic surgeon for more information and options tailored specifically to your needs. Best wishes! Alan Gonzalez, MD, FACS. American Society of Plastic Surgery Member (ASPS), International Federation for Adipose Therapeutics and Science” Member (IFATS), American Society of Plastic Surgery Member (ASPS), Colombian Society of Plastic Surgery member (SCCP) FACS.

This surgical procedure entails removing surplus skin and slightly extending the initial incision. Typically, surgeons use internal sutures instead of external ones, and drains are usually unnecessary. In situations where dog ears are prominent and cause significant bulging, liposuction may also be employed.

I would recommend to discuss this matter with your original surgeon.

I hope this helps,
best of luck !

If it has only been 2 months, you need to wait and heal since you still have swelling. If you look the same after 2-3 more months, then consider liposuction of your flanks and trim the excess skin if needed. Please discuss your concerns with your surgeon.

It appears a small revision will improve your results. Typically a little more skin is excised and the fatty pocket is addressed. The full incision does not need to be reopened. At times this can be done in an office surgical suite under local anesthesia. Speak with your surgeon about your concerns.

Thank you for your question! I would suggest you consult with your plastic surgeon for their opinion as well. Two months after surgery is still fairly early and you likely still have ongoing swelling. Swelling mostly gathers in the lower part of the abdomen and hips due to gravity. I would massage the area and wear a compression garment as needed to help with the swelling. Liposuction swelling can take 6-12 months to fully resolve. I would suggest waiting a full year before completing any additional touch-up liposuction in the area if needed.

In order to make a good assessment on the outcome of a procedure, we need to see proper before and after pictures. If you don’t have your before and after pictures and ask your surgeon to forward, the ones they took.
Dog years are usually related to skin access and typically indicate that someone needed an extended tummy tuck rather than a standard tummy tuck. Phonelist and I love handles or flank area is usually a combination of skin Laxcity and subcutaneous fat. Dog ears are typically related to insufficient skin excision.
You can differentiate skin contour versus fat distribution issues by pulling up on the skin above the area of concern. If pulling the skin tight significantly improve the contour, and the issue is more related to skin, laxity and insufficient skin excision.
If the contour remains, despite pulling up aggressively on the skin, then contour is more related to fat distribution and not so much related to skin laxity. Skin laxity contributes more to body contour than most people realize.
Generally, speaking, correcting dog ears means extending the scar. Sometimes a combination of Liposuction and skin excision gives the best outcome.
Follow up with your provider and have him or her explain your outcome. If that is not sufficient, then schedule in person, second opinion consultations.
Best,
Mats Hagstrom MD