Aesthetic Plastic Surgery Blog

I am often asked how do I determine who is a candidate for liposuction as opposed to tummy tuck or abdominoplasty. This is a decision that takes experience and technical expertise. First a potential patient should seek out a board-certified plastic surgeon who has the ability and training to perform both procedures. If a doctor only knows how to perform liposuction, he is not equipped to recognize and select out those patients who would achieve a better result with tummy tuck surgery. Factors to consider in choosing liposuction or tummy tuck include the quality of the skin, the amount of fat to be removed and estimated skin elasticity. If the skin is of poor quality with many stretch marks, there is a significant risk that treatment with liposuction alone will result in excess skin or contour irregularities. The more fat removed, the more the skin must contract in the abdomen with the chance of a poor result. Tummy tucks address skin excess and quality problems with removal and tightening of the remaining skin. Frequently liposuction is combined with tummy tuck surgery to achieve an optimal result. A tummy tuck can be tailored to a patient’s contour problem. Depending on the examination a mini tummy tuck or a full tummy tuck may be recommended. More on this choice at another time.