Dear iayonnamclaughin,Its difficult to tell without examining you but from your photos you would benefit the most from a Tummy Tuck. Heres why:Liposuction gets rid of excess fat. You have laxity of your skin based on the shadows portrayed in your photo. Liposuction alone would alone make this more lax and likely make the appearance less aesthetically pleasing.A mini tummy tuck is great if you are just looking to flatten the skin below the belly button. It does nothing for the skin above the belly button. A full tummy tuck address all of the skin laxity and abdominal wall laxity. It repositions your umbilicus as well. It costs more and has more downtime associated then either of the above.I would recommend consulting with a plastic surgeon that can go over in detail these three options and spends time answering your questions.Daniel Barrett, MDCertified, American Board of Plastic SurgeryMember, American Society of Plastic SurgeryMember, American Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery
Safety net medical programs such as MediCal are a blessing and thank goodness it does not cover elective surgery like liposuction. You want to be sure there will be money in the system to care for you should you become ill. If you are covered under MediCal you should think twice about paying out of pocket for liposuction because if you are dissatisfied with the results you will find repair more expensive
