Liposuction or tummy tuck to reduce the amount of belly and love handle fat? (Photo)

Hello, thank you for your inquiry. Based on BMI it is a bit high for plastic surgery, it is recommended to lower before to at least 32 in order to have a healthy and safe recovery. It would be recommended to lose before surgery 15-20 pounds at least and also help with a diet and fat burner to lower stomach fat before and then you would be a candidate for tummy tuck combined with liposcution to have best results, I recommend seeking experienced board certified plastic surgeons to discuss further details.

Thanks for your question! At this BMI, I would not perform surgery on you. From the side, you appear to have a fair amount of intrabdominal, or visceral, fat. That is fat under the muscle wall that cannot be treated with liposuction or a tummy tuck. The only way to affectively remove that fat is with diet and exercise. I think you would be doing yourself a disservice trying to have surgery right now. Ideally, we would like your BMI between 30-32. Best of luck!

Hello @VictoriaValencia1, thank you for your question. Every practice has different requirements for performing a BBL. BMI is one of them to analyze how risky and optimal the surgery can be, in terms of complications that the patient could have or the results that the patient want to obtain from the surgery. If BMI is higher than 30 is recommended to lose weight with a healthy diet low in fat and sugars and thus not only prepare for your surgery, but also start to create awareness to take care of your body when you're ready for your surgery. Best wishes! Alan Gonzalez MD, FACS. American Society of Plastic Surgery Member (ASPS), International Federation for Adipose Therapeutics and Science” Member (IFATS), Colombian Society of Plastic Surgery member (SCCP).

Thank you for your question regarding the best method to reduce your belly fat and love handle fat. It looks like you have visceral fat as well as subcutaneous fat. You also have a distended abdomen because of muscle weakness. I advise losing as much weight as possible on your own. Once you get to a stable weight for 3 months, we can do a tummy tuck with muscle plication. This will help with your bulging stomach.

I hope this helps to answer your question regarding the best method to reduce your belly fat and love handle fat.

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.)

Dear VictoriaValencia1,
generally speaking, you want to reach your goal weight before you consider a tummy tuck, otherwise your results will be suboptimal if you continue to lose weight after the surgery. 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

Dear @VictoriaValencia1 you will be a good candidate for Tummy tuck with muscle repair but i will recommend you to lose weight before starting the process, based on your pictures you have a good amount of fat in your abdomen and under your muscle that during the process of tummy tuck and liposuction cannot be remove, please start a good regimen of food and exercises and have your BMI closer to 30 in order to start your plastic surgery journey. Hope this helps.
Dr. Quiroz

I would suggest liposuction first to remove excess fat in the abdomen and flank areas. With that done and the tight post operative garment, you may be inspired to continue a weight loss journey to better health.

From your posted photos it is best if you undergo weight loss before considering a tummy tuck or liposuction. It appears you have visceral/internal fat which is contributing to your abdominal contours. This is not addressed or improved with these procedures but is only addressed through weight loss.

Thanks for your question. In my opinion you are not elegible for a plastic surgery. With your bmi, you have more surgical risks. You need first of all, lose weight. Bariatric surgery, Could be one option.

Choosing a procedure should be based on first having a clear understanding of what the problem is.This is called making an assessment or simply making an accurate diagnosis.
There are four variables that determine what someone’s abdomen looks like. Each of these variables has its own way of being managed.
In other words if somebody doesn’t like the way their belly looks it is always because of one or more of four different variables.
Before variables to determine what someone’s abdomen looks like our abdominal skin laxity, excess subcutaneous fat, muscle separation from previous pregnancies and access visceral or intra-abdominal fat.
In almost every case if someone doesn’t like their belly it is because of one or more of those four variables.
In your case it appears you have all four of them.
Your muscle wall is bulging significantly so most likely you have excess visceral fat and or muscle separation.
Obesity is the number one reason the way your abdomen looks the way it does.
Until you lose weight and reduce your visceral fat content you will not be a good candidate for any cosmetic surgical procedure. while visceral fat is one component of why your abdomen looks the way it does it is not the primary reason.
Liposuction will leave you with a large bulging abdomen and this can only be improved with weight loss.
A tummy tuck with muscle tightening will not be able to hold back the increased inta abdominal pressure persistent on individuals who have excess visceral fat.
Most likely you’ll need to lose about 50 pounds at which point you should be a good candidate for a tummy tuck.
Currently you are not a good candidate for either Liposuction for a tummy tuck.
With successful weight loss your candidacy will become more and more towards a tummy tuck.
With successful weight loss your subcutaneous fat layer will shrink as well making you a lesser candidate for Liposuction.
Without weight loss the excess visceral fat will limit what Liposuction can deliver.
Best,
Mats Hagstrom, MD