How much weight (in loose skin/tissue) will I lose from a tummy tuck?

The tummy tuck operation addresses loose (droopy) skin, extra fat, and rectus muscles that have been pulled apart, (usually with pregnancy). We take off a substanital amount of tissue, but it does not weigh that much when placed on the scale. Remember bone and muscle weigh more than fat and skin. It will look like more "weight" was dropped by the patient as they will get into their clothes better and have a trimmer shape.

Thank you for your question. The goal of a tummy tuck procedure is to remove excess skin and fat, tighten your abdominal wall muscles, and improve your abdominal contour. If you have a significant amount of extra skin and fat to be removed, this may translate into a significant weight loss or it may not. Either way, one should not look at a tummy tuck procedure for the purpose of weight loss, as it all depends on the amount of weight held in the skin, subcutaneous tissue and fat that is to be removed. I hope this helps.

In my 22 years of practice, the weight of tummy tuck resection ranges from 1 to 26 pounds. Wow. The weight correlates with the size of the person. Most of the time, I see a weight of 1-3 pounds on small patients, and 5-10 pounds on larger patients. It is frequently smaller than the patient anticipated. It it is not about the weight, but the great shape that results!!

Hello, Debating Thank you for your question regarding how much weight can you lose with a tummy tuck surgery. This is a very broad question and varies from individual to individual. On some extreme tummy tuck cases, I have removed over 80 pounds. On much smaller tummy tucks, I have removed only two to three pounds. In general, over the past 20 years of my plastic surgery practice, I would estimate that I remove between 7 and 10 pounds for the average tummy tuck. The amount of abdominal skin and fat that is removed during a tummy tuck or abdominoplasty really depends on our anatomy and the aggressiveness of your plastic surgeon. For your specific case, this is very difficult your answer without a physical examination or pictures. When seeking to have a plastic surgery procedure, please seek an experienced, board certified plastic surgeon, who has performed thousands of abdominoplasties in their career. Please closely examine their “before and after” pictures to determine if you are similar to cases that your selected plastic surgeon has performed. I hope this answers your question regarding how much weight can be removed during a tummy tuck or abdominoplasty. If you have any more questions regarding a tummy tuck or abdominoplasty, please contact my office. Good luck! Sincerely, Dr. Katzen

A tummy tuck is not designed for weight loss. While loose skin and fat are removed, the amount may not make a significant impact on your weight but will make a significant impact on your appearance since your mid-section will be smoother and more contoured.

A tummy tuck procedure should give a good reduction in waist , it also gives reduction in weight from excision of skin and subcutaneous fat, i do some liposuction to flanks adding to weight loss. Most patients lose between 0.5 to 1.5 kg in weight of excised tissue but this depends on patient excess skin. Generally excess skin from belly button to lower abdomen crease is taken out in the surgery. A consultation with consultant plastic surgeon will give you an idea of skin that can be excised during the procedure.

Tummy tuck surgery is not a surgery for weight loss although patients will experience some weight lose with the removal of excess skin however it is a surgery for contouring and reshaping. This will lead to losing inches off your waist and reshaping the area but not shedding kilograms. My patients often have a goal they want to achieve and this may include losing weight prior to undergoing tummy tuck surgery to achieve their best and most defined result.

Thank you for your question. It is hard to provided with a valid medical opinion without photos. I would suggest to be treated by board certificated plastic surgeon with experience in this procedure, to get the best desired results. Kind Regards,Dr. Emmanuel Mallol Cotes.-

Thank you for the question. In general, patients often lose many inches and go down several sizes, but typically do not lose much weight as a result of a tummy tuck. Most of my patients report a weight loss of less than five pounds, but the real difference is in their size and contour. It is advisable to perform a tummy tuck when you have reached a more ideal weight. The reason for this several. First, sometimes performing a tummy tuck and liposuction will have suboptimal result if the abdominal girth is wide. Second, if you do lose more weight in the future, the result of the tummy tuck will be inadequate since more skin will sag. Have an experienced plastic surgeon assess you since everyone is different and give you a recommendation. If weight loss is an issue, there are many medically guided weight loss programs.

Everyone is different. Most commonly, only a few pounds is removed after a tummy tuck. Occasionally, larger amounts of tissue can be removed in select circumstances. I hope this helps.- Dr. Bryson Richards