Mini or full tummy tuck or Laser Lipo? (Photo)

Hello, I am Dr. Salvador Garcia from Guadalajara, Mexico, looking at your photos, my recommendation is to perform a complete tummy tuck, you would gain many things, 1. A more marked and smaller waist, 2. Remove the excess skin you have below the navel and 3. Remove stretch marks, if you combine this with liposculpture, it would be a great result that you would have.

Hello and thank you for your question. From the pictures you have provided, you have a significant amount of striae (stretchmarks) present throughout your lower to mid abdomen and extending to your sides into your flanks. You also have a moderate/severe amount of excess subcutaneous fat and skin in these regions. There is some flank adiposity (excess skin/fat) and asymmetry, and minimal/moderate upper abdomen adiposity- but evaluation is a little limited from these pictures. Based on all this, you would benefit from a traditional abdominoplasty (tummy tuck) with liposuction of your flanks to best help improve your abdominal/trunk contour.
Regarding the transverse lower abdominal scar, it should be well hidden within your bikini or underwear, and if you adhere to proper scar care and sun avoidance after surgery, it should eventually heal to be minimally noticeable.
Regarding a "mini-abdominoplasty," it is important to realize that just because it has the word "mini" in the name, does NOT mean that the scar is any smaller. It can be the same size scar as a "full abdominoplasty." The difference is that in a "mini," the tissue below the belly button is resected, but the belly button itself is not relocated to a new position. This is generally only an option in patients that have less tissue to be resected, a notably long torso, and a belly button which is positioned higher than normal (since the procedure brings down the belly button)- otherwise in a patient with a normally located belly button or normal torso, these operations make the belly button look too low which looks VERY weird.
Liposuction is a great adjunct which would definitely provide some additional benefit, particularly to the contour and symmetry of your flanks, and would be done at the same time as your tummy tuck procedure for the best possible single operation results. Liposuction without the tummy tuck though, would NOT be a good option, as it would leave you with a ton of excess poor quality deflated appearing skin throughout your abdomen and flanks, which would ultimately look worse and require another surgery to remove.
With all that said, it is always difficult to provide tentative surgical recommendations, as there is only so much information to be gained from any photos and descriptions provided. I recommend for you to come see me or another plastic surgeon for a formal consultation to thoroughly discuss your surgical goals, undergo a formal examination, evaluate all your options (surgical and nonsurgical), and decide on the best procedure(s) for your specific case. I hope this helps!
Best wishes,
Dr. Donald Groves
Plastic Surgeon