Can the Muscle Walls of the Abdomen Be Tighten Without Having a Tummy Tuck? (photo)

Some people carry much of their fat around the organs in the abdomen (so called "visceral fat") more so than outside the muscle wall of the abdomen.  The visceral fat tends to bulge out the abdomen in people, and these people often do not have a lot of extra skin.  The only real way to fix that situation is through diet and exercise.

In select individuals, yes the muscles can be tightened without removing skin.  These individuals: 1) have spread muscles but no extra skin, 2) do not have much fatty tissue in around the organs (tightening the muscles puts pressure on the internal abdominal contents which can push on the diapragm making it hard to breath or cut off circulation from pressure on the large vessels inside the abdomen).

The procedure requires an incision at the lower abdomen to get at the muscles in the lower half, and an incision at the belly button to get at the upper half.  The skin and subcutaneous tissue needs to be separated off the muscles and the muscles sewn together.  Sometimes this can lead to bunching of the skin if it is inelastic.

In your pictures your abdomen protrudes.  If it also has fatty tissue inside, you would not be a good candidate.  If your tummy sticks out just from loose muscles, you might be.  Seek out an experienced board certified plastic surgeon to see what you might qualify for.  Good Luck!

      The walls can be tightened without a tummy tuck, but you may or may not want skin removal.  To be honest with you, I cannot tell much from the pictures.  Find a plastic surgeon with ELITE credentials who performs hundreds of tummy tucks each year.  Then look at the plastic surgeon's website before and after photo galleries to get a sense of who can deliver the results.  Kenneth Hughes, MD Los Angeles, CA