Can You Do Muscle Repair Without a Tummy Tuck?

Not really. Repairing the muscle is actually the most invasive part of the tummy tuck, the part that really makes people feel it after and restricts movement. So short of exercise there is really no way to surgically repair the muscles without the surgery, even if you did it endoscopically, the repair is the tough part!!!

Yes, you can get endoscopic (not laparoscopic) repair of rectus diastasis without a full tummy tuck. Some skin excision may be required with this to get your skin to lay flat and smooth.

To be sure, see two or more board-certified plastic surgeons in your area for a full and complete evaluation to make sure you are a good candidate and that it is safe for you to have surgery.  I hope this helps.

You can have a muscle repair without undergoing a tummy tuck but it won't be non-invasive.  Any surgical repair requires an invasive or open approach even though it might be done with a small incision or through small endoscopic incisions but it would be incorrect to label this as non-invasive. Complications such as hematomas, infections, and seromas can occur even though the incisions are small.

Robin T.W. Yuan, M.D.