Will a mini tummy tuck fix my problem? (Photo)

Question

I had lipo & formed a hard mass on my abdomen. 3 mos later I had surgery to remove it & shortly after, it came right back. Would a mini tummy tuck be my only option. I want to know I’m not wasting money with vacuum therapy and cupping trying to pull the creases out

Daniel Barrett, MD · Answer

Dear rcooper90,
it is hard to tell for sure without an examination. If you are considering surgery, I would suggest you consult a board-certified plastic surgeon. 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

Ronald J. Edelson, MD · Answer

A mini tummy tuck will only help the area below the umbilicus. In your case your would need a full tummy tuck

Camille Cash, MD · Answer

I'm sorry to hear of the issues you have had since your surgery.  From your photos it does not appear that a mini tummy tuck will resolve your problems.  I encourage you to visit with a few board certified plastic surgeons near you to hear varying opinions and options.

Connie Hiers, MD, FACS · Answer

I am so very sorry about your difficulties. the mini tuck is for the lower abdomen only. Perhaps fat transfers or Sculptra injections could be helpful to fill in the cavities.

Mats Hagstrom, MD (license on probation) · Answer

What happened to you is highly unfortunate. I spent the last several years answering over 10,000 questions on this website specifically about Liposuction related issues.
My conclusion has been that a substantial number of providers offering liposuction are not particularly good at it and patients need to be very careful in vetting providers including board-certified plastic surgeons with an overall good reputation.
The procedure is unfortunately seen as simplistic and file proof with no need to master technical challenges.
This is especially unfortunate when those ideas come from providers were performing the procedure.
The truth is doing Liposuction in so much is just removing fat is a brainless operation could be done by a monkey. delivering consistent quality results with stunning body transformations without any areas of contour irregularities is a completely different story. patients are not looking to simply have fat removed and placed in a bucket there looking to have a better appearing body and doing that on a consistent basis turns out to be far more difficult than both patients and providers believe.
Those who’ve mastered the procedure recognize that it takes a lifetime to get really good at doing Liposuction.
In your case most of your problems are on the upper abdomen so a mini tummy tuck would be the opposite of what you need. It would simply pull the disfigured area towards the center of your abdomen and remove all your normal healthy looking skin.
If any type of tummy tuck would be helpful it would be a reverse tummy tuck trying to remove as much upper abdominal skin as possible. i’m not convinced that a reversed tummy tuck which tends to not be a particularly high patient satisfaction procedure is a good idea bud removing skin from your lower abdomen is the wrong approach because it’s taking the good and leaving the bad.
There are no easy solutions for your problem.
I hope you’ve had the opportunity to write some reviews about the Doctor Who did your initial procedure and at a minimum asked them to refund the money you paid for the procedure.
Your situation is complex and any meaningful assessment requires an in person consultation.
If you opt to have second opinion consultations you should collect all before and after pictures for both procedures including the operative reports for both of those operations. All of these are part of your medical record and available from each of the providers.
Perhaps both operations were done by the same doctor?
Regardless, you should have copies of your medical records including all formal before and after pictures.
Understanding the whole story and knowing where you started is an important part of having an understanding and that determines what we recommend moving into the future.
There’s nothing wrong with having lots of consultations. You’ll probably find some plastic surgeons who do not want to attempt any type of revision and some may offer things that will not work or don’t make sense because they’re looking to do surgery and make money.
Some will genuinely have the enthusiasm that they can help you which may or may not be true. Recognize that there is no easy solutions and if you opt for another procedure it should be done by someone who has many years of experience with a stellar reputation.
The best way to vet plastic surgeons for any cosmetic surgical procedure is to start by having multiple in person consultations. During each consultation ask each provider to open up their portfolio and share with you their entire collection before and after pictures. Some surgeons may be apprehensive in doing this but being shown a handful of preselected pictures which most likely represent the best results of the providers career is insufficient to get a clear understanding of what average results look like in the hands of each provider. For that reasons patients should push providers to show as many before and after pictures as possible. Preferably a minimum of 50 sets of before and after pictures which should be no problem for an experienced provider.
Highly experienced providers will have hundreds or even thousands of before and after pictures. As providers to show examples of excellent outcomes, average outcomes and less than outcomes. Talk to them specifically about revision rates and asked to see examples of patients who had revisions and know exactly who will be covering expenses if you need revision surgery.
People who have been disfigured by cosmetic surgery in the past often are very apprehensive to have another operation.
I wish I could give you an optimistic straightforward answer of some thing that will really help you but unfortunately your situation is difficult, complex and the decision to move forward with more surgery needs to be weighed carefully.
Good luck,
Mats Hagstrom MD

Will a mini tummy tuck fix my problem? (Photo)

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