What to do to get a flat stomach and hourglass shape? mini tummy tuck, tummy tuck or liposuction? (photos)

Thank you for your question and photos. A tummy tuck will address excess skin & repair of the abdominal muscle. The abdominal wall can be weakened after pregnancy and (or) significant weight gain & loss. By repairing the muscle, not only does the appearance of your abdominal area improve, but your core strength as well. The repair of the muscle will cinch your waist like an inner corset, which will accentuate your curves. Liposuction will remove excess fat from unwanted areas with some skin retraction. Your expectations and health will dictate the best procedure(s) for you. I suggest a consultation with a board certified plastic surgeon to go over the options that best address your goals. Best of luck!

Dhaval Patel MD
Double Board Certified Plastic Surgeon
Chicago
South Barrington
Oakbrook
Orland Park

There appears to be a few things going on here. It appears you have a belly button hernia which should be addressed. Next on side view, the abdomen bulges out which is likely related to separation from abdominal muscles. This is best fixed with muscle plication - sometimes referred to muscle repair. Next would be addressing extra skin. I think patients tend to get better results with full abdominoplasty that mini. You would get different opinions on that aspect.

Liposuction alone will not give your the results you are looking for so it will be some version of a tummy tuck. Diastasis repair is necessary to bring the waist in the way you want. A tricky part is the umbilical hernia, which needs to be tucked in. An excellent way to do this is a mini tummy tuck with umbilical float - this closes the hernia and repairs the diastasis without a scar on the belly button but will not be able to remove much skin. A full tummy tuck will give you the most dramatic results but with a longer scar and some risk to how the belly button heals because of the hernia.

Thank you for your question and pictures.
You would get better results with a Tummy Tuck with Liposuction and J-plasma.
If you're willing to travel, Surgeons in the Dominican Republic have experience and very high standard of excellence when it comes to plastic surgery. I'm positive you can get what you're looking for.

Dear Optimistic9979,
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

If you are not planning future pregnancies, I recommend abdominoplasty with mesh reinforcement. The mesh creates a more hourglass figure by compressing the abdominal wall resulting in early satiety and helps maintain a reduced weight.

Best Wishes,

Gary Horndeski, M.D.

Thank you for your question and series of photographs.  Nothing replaces an in-person examination, but I think you would most benefit from a full tummy tuck and liposuction of your waist and flanks.  The tummy tuck will tighten your stomach muscles, helping to achieve a flatter appearance, while removing excess skin and adipose tissue.  Liposuction may be used to enhance your tummy tuck results by narrowing your waist and removing isolated areas of diet and exercise resistant fat.  I would favor the full approach because it appears that your skin and muscle laxity is present above and below your belly button. Hope that this helps

A Tummy Tuck will address excess skin and abdominal muscle repair while liposuction will remove excess fat from unwanted areas. An Hourglass Tummy Tuck is a combination of both of these procedures used to achieve a flatter abdomen and an hourglass shape. Often a BBL can also be included in such procedure. Seek a board-certified surgeon in your area that specializes in Hourglass Tummy Tuck to go over the procedure with you and addresses your goals.

A full tummy tuck will probably give you your tightest abdomen by removing excess skin and tightening your muscles. I would suggest meeting with a board certified plastic surgeon and discussing your options.

You appear to have muscle diastasis and an umbilical hernia. You would need a full tummy tuck to correct those things and give you a flat stomach.