There’s no reason you can’t have a mini tummy tuck. Whether it gives you the results you’re hoping for is another question. Procedure selection should be done by first having a clear understanding of what the underlying ideology is. There are four tissue variables that determine what the abdomen looks like. These are abdominal skin laxity typically due to previous pregnancies, excess subcutaneous fat, muscle separation from previous pregnancies, and finally access visceral or intra-abdominal fat. A mini tummy tuck treats, abdominal skin laxity of the lower abdomen only. It does not address skin laxity above the belly button nor does it treat muscle separation. A full tummy tuck treats, pregnancy related muscle separation, and tightens the skin of the upper and lower abdomen. A mini tummy tuck can create some downward pull on the belly button, depending on how much skin is removed. Generally, the impact on the belly button isn’t very much. The biggest drawback to a mini tummy tuck is that it doesn’t treat skin laxity of the upper abdomen, and cannot address muscle separation. If there is muscle separation, then a full tummy attack is usually a better procedure. The appearance of the belly button after a full tummy tuck varies substantially, depending on who does the procedure. Getting a natural looking belly button on a consistent basis is one of the hardest parts of a full tummy tuck. To get this looking good, requires finesse and attention to detail. It takes time. Those who approach mastery of the procedure can get good, consistent quality results with really good looking belly buttons. Average providers tend to leave the belly button, looking quite surgical, crude and unnatural. provider selection is in the end, the most important variable. In the hands of the right provider you’ll be guided towards the correct procedure, you’ll have a good understanding of each procedure and the procedure will be executed correctly. Focus your efforts on provider selection by having several in person consultations. Get a quality set of pictures of yourself. Don’t take the picture yourself and don’t use mirrors. Have someone else take the pictures or use the timer on your camera. look at how plastic surgeons take before and after pictures to get an understanding of what we need. Bring pictures of yourself with you to use as a reference during any consultation. During each consultation, ask each provider to open up their portfolio and show you their entire collection of before and after pictures of previous patients who had similar body characteristics for whatever procedure they recommend. ideally, they should have results for both mini and full tummy tucks on previous patients who had similar looking abdomen. Best, Mats Hagstrom MD