Does Everyone Still Have Loose Skin After Their Tummy Tuck?

The purpose of a tummy tuck, aside from reshaping the abdominal area and tightening abdominal muscles, is to remove the excess abdominal skin.

However skin is elastic and will stretch thus there will always be some loosenes.  After a tummy tuck you should expect to have a relatively tight abdominal skin, but naturally when you sit down the skin is expected to fold and relax.

Sincerely,

Martin Jugenburg, MD

A tummy tuck is designed to tighten loose skin, so you won't have sagging skin left behind. However, liposuction can leave saggy skin behind. Will you be having a tummy tuck or liposuction?

No you should not have any loose skin left.  If you do it is because your surgeon was conservative and should have removed more.  The best way to assess a surgeon's work is to look at his/her before/after photo gallery where there must be 6 views from each patient body (from under the breast to above the knees in small underwear; front view, quarter turn, profile, back, sitting front and profile).  If you see any loose skin on the before/after photos it is a sign that your doctor is conservative.  If all the views are not shown on the before/after photo gallery or there are no sitting views then look someone else to do your surgery.

The goal of a tummy tuck is to stretch your skin so that the contour is tight while still maintaining adequate tension.  It is not common to have loose skin after a tummy tuck.  In the uncommon event that there is loose skin after this procedure, it is due to insufficient skin removal as you would see with patients who have right upper quadrant scars where skin cannot be removed under tension.  It would also be possible if the abdominal skin has severe stretch marks that extend well above the umbilicus. In this case it is impossible to remove all of the problematic skin.

After tummy tuck the skin laxity should be thoroughly addressed, though it is true that skin elasticity may determine 'looseness' after the procedure. You should have excellent contour when standing, but if your skin is not elastic you may see a fold or bunching as you bend fully forward. If your skin is more elastic, it will tighten in as you bend. Your tummy tuck can only be as snug as to allow you to stand up straight. For most, tummy tuck results are well worth the effort.
Best of luck,
peterejohnsonmd