Do you get a flatter stomach from skin removal or fascia tightening?

Dear sweetgrace,
it is hard to tell for sure without an examination. 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

It sounds like you need both muscle tightening (since you said your abdomen looks like you are with child), and skin removal (of the shelf above your scar). Please visit with a board-certified plastic surgeon as revision surgery can be complex. Good luck!

From your description it sounds like you will have the best result from both skin excision and correction of the abdominal wall laxity. The result will be a flatter, tighter tummy. I encourage you to meet with a board certified plastic surgeon near you to learn more.

Take me to primarily treats abdominal skin laxity and muscle separation from previous pregnancies.
The impact of having the procedure depends on the extent of both skin laxity and muscle separation.
For example an individual with mild skin laxity and severe muscle separation will have the greatest impact from muscle tightening and less impact from excess skin removal.
If it’s the other way and somebody primarily has loose skin with a little muscle separation then the skin excision will be more important than muscle tightening.
The goal is to make an assessment to understand what the problem is and this intern should help explain what the procedure can or cannot accomplish.
This is one of the aspects of having a thorough consultation which includes an examination, making an assessment and explaining what various treatment options can or cannot accomplish.
There are four variables that determine what someone’s abdomen looks like.
These are abdominal skin laxity, excess of subcutaneous fat, muscle separation from previous pregnancies and access this role or intra-abdominal fat.
These are abdominal skin laxity, excess of subcutaneous fat, muscle separation from previous pregnancies and access this role or intra-abdominal fat.
In general if someone doesn’t like the way their belly looks it is always because of one or more of these four variables.
There are of course exceptions like having had previous abdominal surgery in which case the abdomen may not look as good as it could because of scar tissue etc. etc.
Your post is asking whether you should have a revision which implies that you’ve had a previous tummy tuck?
Without the pictures or having more information we can’t really give you an assessment or useful information.
If you have a plastic surgeon then follow up with him or her. If you do not have one then I suggest you have multiple in person consultations with local board-certified plastic surgeons in your area.
During each consultation ask each provider to open up their portfolio and show you their entire collection of before and after pictures for the procedure you are interested in.
If it’s revision work then ask providers if they have it before and after pictures of other patients who had similar revisions.
For primary procedures most plastic surgeons with sufficient skills and experience should be able to show you at least to 50 set of before and after pictures of commonly performed procedures.
Revision work is not nearly as common as primary procedures so surgeons would probably not have nearly as many examples of results from doing revision to work.
Generally speaking the best surgeons are doing revision work tends to be the ones who are the best at the primary procedure.
I recommend patient schedule multiple in person consultations during which time you can vet plastic surgeons regarding their skill and experience, get a quality assessment and better understanding of various treatment options.
Starting with five consultations seems reasonable and scheduling more if needed.
Best,
Mats Hagstrom MD