Would I be able to benefit from only getting liposuction 360 or is a tummy tuck needed? (Photos)

Question

I am 5ft 160lbs with two kids and absolutely no plans for any more. I wanted (want) a tummy tuck with liposuction but was advised that doing this alone would not benefit me as I have excess fat stored around the abdomen. It was advised to complete lipo360 followed by a tummy tuck after full recovery. I am afraid of the TT recovery time and to be honest the pain level. Is it possible that I can benefit from liposuction 360 alone without the need for the TT?

Stanley Castor, MD · Answer

Liposuction alone only address the excess subcutaneous fat that you have (under the skin). It does not remove the visceral fat or fat that is inside your abdominal wall wrapped around your internal organs. Diet and exercise are the only ways to get rid of visceral fat. Jumping starting your weight loss with liposuction is an option followed by doing a tummy tuck later. If you did a tummy tuck now, your abdomen would be smaller, but not completely flat because of the internal visceral fat that you have. It really depends on your goals. If you are OK with your weight now, then do a tummy tuck with liposuction of your love handles and back rolls. Hope that helps!

Kenneth Hughes, MD · Answer

Based on your pictures you will not be happy with just the liposuction, I would recommend a tummy tuck with lipo bbl at the same time. These procedures can be done a t the same time as long as you are healthy. Best of luck!

Donovan Rosas, MD · Answer

Concerns about the appearance of the abdomen are very common among patients consulting with a plastic surgeon. Just like every patient is different…so too is every abdomen. Different problems require different solutions. Your board certified plastic surgeon is uniquely trained to identify the problems as well as the appropriate solution.
The abdomen is commonly addressed via liposuction or abdominoplasty (“tummy – tuck”). Which procedure is best is dependent upon the source of the problem. 
Excess fat deposits underneath the skin can be addressed via liposuction. Liposuction will not address any other issues and may worsen the situation if there are other factors at play (such as skin excess and muscle laxity, see below)
Commonly patients concerns are centered around issues of excess skin as well as fat. A third factor, which is often overlooked by most patients is abdominal wall muscle laxity (typically seen in post partum mommies).  The tummy tuck, also known as abdominoplasty is a surgical procedure designed to eliminate excess skin and fat and tighten the muscles in the abdominal wall to create a smoother and slimmer contour. The tummy tuck is designed to target areas of the abdomen that have not responded to diet and exercise, making it particularly popular among people that have a lot of loose or sagging skin around the abdominal area due to significant weight loss, as well as women with excess skin and stretched abdominal muscles following pregnancy and childbirth. 
Candidates for tummy tuck should be already at or near their ideal weight for optimal results. It is recommended to women that are planning on becoming pregnant to postpone the procedure until they are finished having children.
Ultimately, the answer to your question is dependent upon what the underlying problem is (fat, skin, muscle). If you are truly in need of an abdominoplasty, you are likely to be disappointed with the results of liposuction alone (as liposuction is likely to worsen the appearance of laxity).Based upon your photos, you would benefit from a staged abdominoplasty with waistline contouring liposuction. These cannot be performed simultaneously as aggressive thinning of the abdominal flap during tummy tuck can lead to healing difficulties.
As always, discuss your concerns with a board certified plastic surgeon (ABPS)

Kevin Tehrani, MD, FACS · Answer

Thank you for your detailed question and corresponding photos. Based on your photos, I think you would be a better candidate for a lateral tension abdominoplasty (tummy tuck) with liposuction of the back and flanks. Liposuction alone will not address the excess skin and would not have a significant result. Surgery will not address visceral fat and therefore you should lose weight with diet and exercise prior to surgery. With 15-20 lbs of weight loss, you would have a beautiful result with nice abdominal contouring. The recovery is two weeks and we manage your pain very well. I recommend seeing a board-certified plastic surgeon for an in person consultation to discuss your goals and a treatment plan that is right for you. At our practice we also provide consults via FaceTime or Skype for patients who live outside of NY. For more information, please visit our webpage.

Jean Paul Giudicelli Saba, MD · Answer

Hi, thanks for sharing your concern and photos with us!
  
Looking at your photos I might say that you´ll be a great candidate to get an entire back, waist and flanks liposuction, with BBL, and tummy tuck, this is because all the extra skin located in this areas plus your abdominal muscle needs to be repaired.
  
Before all this, of course, you need to get a complete medical evaluation and laboratory exams to check everything is fine. Also please try to find a board certified plastic surgeon, remember that your safety, always, is going to be first.
  
Have a great day! 
  
Dr. JPG

Steven Wallach, MD · Answer

You have several issues. First, you probably have a large visceral component which would not reduce your overall girth too much after a TT. To lose that requires diet and exercise. If you want a jump start, then lipo can help reduce the outer subcutaneous volume.  After losing weight, a tt is probably going to help the most. It all depends upon your goals.

Karl William Schwarz, MD · Answer

If you look at it in a pure sense liposuction is the best treatment for getting rid of resistant fat deposits, while tummy tucks are for patients with excess skin. However, a lot of patients have a combination of both excess skin and excess fat, and don't fit neatly into just one category so that's when you have to decide what is the best treatment option to achieve the best results.
In your case the best course of action would be to undergo circumferential liposuction (abdomen, flanks, back, bra fat) and then recover and heal; that will remove the fat. Then after at least several months, once you have healed and the swelling is all gone, undergo a tummy tuck to get rid of the excess skin.
 No one really wants a tummy tuck because of the recovery, or the scar, but the unfortunate truth is that if you have excess skin then you have to remove it and that requires an incision (tummy tuck). In fact, if you have excess skin or very loose skin, stretch marks etc then liposuction by itself can actually make the excess skin look worse.

Would I be able to benefit from only getting liposuction 360 or is a tummy tuck needed? (Photos)

Answers (7)

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