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Do I need a Tummy Tuck or Liposuction?

What options are available for those areas on your body that seem to hold excess fat and / or have additional loose skin (nearly everyone has them).

Diet and exercise alone may not be able to selectively target them. If these areas bother you and you want to shrink the weight and skin, there may be some surgical options for you.

Let’s discuss if you are a good candidate for surgery:

Liposuction

Liposuction (liposculpture) is a surgical procedure that removes excess fat from stubborn areas. Lipo is not a weight loss solution. The best candidates for Liposuction are patients who:

  • Struggle to burn fat from a particular area
  • Have healthy skin with good skin elasticity
  • Are healthy, have good muscle tone
  • Are close to their ideal body weight

As adults we cannot make new fat cells so Liposuction has a permanent effect of reshaping body contours. Once the fat cells are removed, new ones cannot grow to replace the fat cells that were removed – how great is that!! However, subsequent weight gain or loss can still cause the current fat cells to expand or shrink which may cause loose looking skin.

Tummy Tuck

A Tummy Tuck (abdominoplasty) targets excess skin that cannot be removed with diet or exercise, so any further weight loss after the surgery will result in more excess skin.

The best candidates for a Tummy Tuck are patients who:

  • Have loose or excess skin around their abdominal area
  • At their goal weight
  • Finished having children

For patients that have been pregnant or lost a large amount of weight, there may be some muscle separation present which can make it difficult to get a flat abdomen. A Tummy Tuck can assist by repairing the abdominal wall.

There are varying techniques for Tummy Tucks usually depending on the severity of excess skin requiring removal, with some being less invasive such as a Mini and others being quite large, such as an Extended or even a Belt Lipectomy (360 body contouring).

Some patients may require a combination of Liposuction and a Tummy Tuck for optimal results.

MINKST and your surgeon can help determine the best options available to achieve the results you are looking for. Contact us to find out what surgical technique is right for you.

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