Lipo or Tummy Tuck? What would you recommend and why? (Photo)

Hi tasteful808683,
Thank you for your question history and pictures regarding whether you need liposuction or a tummy tuck, and specifically why I would recommend lipo or tummy tuck and why. Because of your pictures, age, and history, I would suggest VASER liposuction. I believe due to your health, genetics, absence of stretch marks, and appearance of your skin, that your skin should contract nicely with VASER liposuction. I would suggest the VASER liposuction for maximum skin contractility. VASER liposuction should be performed throughout the abdomen from just under the breast to the bikini line, and possibly include the pubic region. I would also suggest VASER liposuction to the love handle region. Postoperative compression will be essential for six weeks. Lymphatic massage will also be important for at least three weeks. I do not believe your abdominal wall and your skin is so bad that you require a mini or full tummy tuck. Thank you for your question regarding whether you need liposuction or a tummy tuck. I hope the recommendation helps in your decision making.

Sincerely,

J. Timothy Katzen, MD, FACS, FICS
Board Certified Plastic Surgeon

Hello @Tasteful808683, Thank you for your question. Thank you for your question. Ideally, a patient should undergo a personalized consultation with a surgeon, during which a surgical plan tailored to the patient's expectations will be presented. That said, from your pictures, an option can be a mini tummy tuck modified lipectomy that leaves a small scar and improves all aspects of the appearance. A tummy tuck can treat different aspects. There are 4 factors that are considered when it comes to the abdomen shape: Lax skin, diastasis recti, fat under the skin and intra abdominal fat. The first two are treated with a tummy tuck and the latter with lipolysis made with liposuction. It is important that you have a consultation with a board certified specialist to determine a surgical plan according to your needs. I link a video to shed more light. For more information and recommendations, it is best to consult with one or several board certified plastic surgeons. Best wishes! Alan Gonzalez MD, FACS. Best wishes! Alan Gonzalez MD. American Society of Plastic Surgery Member (ASPS), International Federation for Adipose Therapeutics and Science” Member (IFATS), Colombian Society of Plastic Surgery member (SCCP).

Hello, thanks for your question and photos. Remember that you must have an in-person consult before making a decision. You may need both procedures, Liposuction to eliminate de body fat in your belly and around your waist, and Tummy Tuck to extract saggy skin and repair the area. Consult a plastic surgeon in your area. Good luck!

There are specific requirements for just doing lipo vs lipo + mini tummy tuck vs lipo + tummy tuck. The main thing is if there is an abdominal wall muscle weakness or diastasis recti those to require an internal corset that is done with a mini or traditional tummy tuck so we can rule out the Lipo alone. Then by looking at your photos and in my experience I would recommend a traditional tummy tuck because if you do a mini, the scar is shorter but then you have to do just a repositiong of the belly button that tends to lower it and you can’t do a tailoring of it. On the other hand with a traditional tummy tuck you do have a longer scar but less risks of having dog ears, you can tailor the belly button to have a rounder shape and keep it where it actually is.

Choosing the correct procedure should be done based on having a clear understanding of what the underlying problem or ideology is. There are four variables determine what the abdomen looks like. Those for tissue variables are abdominal, scan laxity typically due to previous pregnancies or significant weight loss, excess subcutaneous fat, muscle separation from previous pregnancies, and lastly excess visceral or intra-abdominal fat.
In your case, it appears you have mild to moderate skin, laxity, moderate subcutaneous, fat, mild muscle, separation and minimal issues with visceral fat.
Another way to look at choosing procedures is based on what you are hoping to achieve vs what you are willing to go through.
For example if you want a tight flat abdomen then you’ll need a full tummy tuck and that comes with its own recovery, a long scar and a potentially in-natural looking belly button. But the other hand if you want to just reduce the fat thickness of your torso then we’ll done liposuction can do that with minimal downsides.
Most people will have one of the above four tissue variables that is the main issue. In your case you have three that are about equal. A full tummy tuck treats abdominal skin laxity and muscle separation. Liposuction reduces subcutaneous fat.
I will also say that delivering quality liposuction results including making accurate assessments regarding candidacy is more difficult than most people realize. The number of plastic surgeons who have truly mastered liposuction are in a pretty small minority. Liposuction has massive variation in skill levels among board certified plastic surgeons including those with years of experience and those with good reputations.
Anyone considering liposuction should be very selective when it comes to choosing a provider. To find the right liposuction provider I suggest patients have multiple in person consultations. 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 to your own. An experience plastic surgeon should have no difficulty showing you the before and after pictures of at least 50 previous patients. Being shown a handful of pre-selected images, representing the best results of a providers career is insufficient to get a clear understanding of what average results look like in the hands of each provider or what results may look like on someone with your candidacy for the procedure.
There’s no correct number of consultations needed but for permanent irreversible body contouring procedures, like Liposuction that can potentially leave people disfigured I recommend patient start the process by having at least five in person consultations. Generally speaking patients should be more selective than they think necessary. In the end, you are a candidate for both Liposuction, a full tummy tuck and potentially a mini tummy tuck. Think about your history of scars and how they look long-term. If you have a tendency to form hypertrophic or hyperpigmented scars, the procedures with significant scars may be put lower on the list of potential desirable operations.
When, in doubt, slow down and schedule more consultations. And then you should be the one, making the decision based on input from sufficiently talented and experienced providers who are serving as patient advocates.
Having options has advantages and disadvantages. It’s nice to be able to choose, but choosing can be stressful for some people.
In the end, ask yourself what you’re hoping to achieve and what you’re willing to go through.
I cannot emphasize enough the importance of provider selection for whatever procedure you choose, but especially for Liposuction.
Good luck,
Mats Hagstrom MD

Hello, you are really an excellent candidate for an Abdominoplasty, since with this procedure we can improve: 1 the diastacis of the rectus abdominis muscles, 2 the umbilical hernia, 3 give your navel a youthful and natural appearance, and 4 remove excess sagging skin of your lower abdomen.