Do I need liposuction and a tummy tuck? (Photos)

Thank you for your question regarding what to do with excess skin of your lower abdomen. You mentioned that you were overweight and you have had children. Unfortunately, this is an extremely common scenario. Unfortunately no matter how hard you work out your skin will not recoil. This is due to your genetics, weight loss, and history of pregnancy. Therefore you need a tummy tuck. In my opinion, no amount of working out will help the skin to contract. Also, isolated liposuction to the lower abdomen will only remove fat and probably make your excess skin worse not better. Therefore in my opinion without a physical examination or better pictures, you need a tummy sucker of Domino plasty. The procedure takes approximately 3 to 4 hours to complete. The procedure should be done under general anesthesia. Plan on a 2 to 3-week recovery. Thank you for your question regarding what kind of surgery you need after weight loss and children despite you’re working out all the time.

If you have any more questions regarding a tummy tuck, lower body lift, 360 circumferential lower body lift, belt lipectomy, belt abdominoplasty, or belt dermolipectomy please contact my office. Since the body lift is a big procedure, please seek an experienced, board-certified plastic surgeon with significant experience performing the lower body lift. Do your research. Make sure they have performed at least 100 tummy tuck or circumferential lower body lift surgeries and have the before and after pictures to prove it. Carefully examine their before and after pictures and check their reviews on RealSelf. If you cannot find an experienced, tummy tuck or lower body lift surgeon in your neighborhood, consider traveling out of state if you must. Sincerely, Dr. Katzen. (“Verified” Plastic Surgeon, President of the American Society of Bariatric Plastic Surgeons, certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery, Fellow of the International Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, American College of Surgery, and International College of Surgery and member of the American Society of Plastic Surgery, American Academy of Cosmetic Surgery and RealSelf Hall of Fame.)

From these photos it is possible that you could benefit from a tradition tummy tuck or possibly mini-tummy tuck, but would likely require a consultation with hands-on examination of skin and soft tissue laxity and excess to give a good answer. It basically comes down to whether you have enough excess tissue to remove under your umbilicus while moving the skin just above the belly button to below the belt line, which is what is done in a tummy tuck. If not, but there is still more skin laxity than you would want to leave behind after liposuction, then you can have removal of a lesser amount of skin and soft tissue from your lower abdomen below your belt line and move you belly button down slightly, which in various forms is known as a mini-tummy tuck. Again, as with most things plastic surgery, an in-person consultation is your best way to get an accurate and personalized surgical plan.

A tummy tuck will get rid of the loose skin and the repair of the muscle will cinch in your waist. You might benefit from Liposuction at the hips/flanks to smooth out the silhouette of the tummy tuck, its hard to tell from the photos.