Comparing Tummy Tuck Surgical Techniques

After losing a lot of weight, you’re bound to experience loose skin and issues with your body contour. This is natural, and the ideal way to shed that excess skin around the abdomen is to undergo a tummy tuck (abdominoplasty). Dr. Marcus H. Crawford has tailored this procedure to help numerous people in Atlanta and Marietta, GA achieve a more ideal body contour.

There are different ways to perform a tummy tuck to meet the needs of a patient. Below, let’s compare different tummy tuck techniques and why one form of the surgery may be better than the other for you.

Traditional Tummy Tuck Surgery

During a traditional tummy tuck, the following incisions are made:

• A circular incision around the belly button
• A lateral incision along the lower abdomen that spans from hipbone to hipbone
• A vertical incision connecting the previous two incisions

Though this anchor-shaped set of abdominal incisions, a plastic surgeon can remove excess fat and tissue, revise the underlying structure of the stomach, and pull the remaining abdominal skin tighter. The result is a better overall body contour.

Ideal Candidates for Traditional Tummy Tuck Surgery

The traditional tummy tuck is going to be most ideal for people who have lost a lot of weight and have loose skin around the lower stomach. This kind of tummy tuck is also common during mommy makeovers, which are ideal for pregnant women trying to revise their appearance after childbirth.

Extended Tummy Tuck Surgery

The extended tummy tuck consists of the following incisions:

• A circular incision around the belly button
• A lateral incision starting at the back of one hipbone that travels along the side of the hip and the lower abdomen all the way to the back of the opposite hipbone
• A vertical incision connecting the previous two incisions

This extended incision allows plastic surgeons to achieve much more dramatic body contouring results. Surgeons are able to target the love handles as well as the lower abdomen.

Ideal Candidates for Extended Tummy Tuck Surgery

The best candidates for an extended tummy tuck are people who have lost a lot of weight through bariatric surgery or other means. Since more loose skin is present from surgery, this extended form of the procedure is most ideal for major body contouring and skin tightening needs.

Mini Tummy Tuck Surgery

The mini tummy tuck surgery typically involves a lateral incision along the lower abdomen. This incision does not need to span from hipbone to hipbone. Through this incision, all of the necessary adjustments to the abdominal region can be made. Slight variations on this single-incision procedure can be performed if needed.

Ideal Candidates for Mini Tummy Tuck Surgery

The best candidates for a mini tummy tuck are people who have just a little bit of loose belly skin that sags from their frame. In such cases, just a small amount of body contouring is sufficient to get rid of the drooping along the lower abdomen. The amount of loose skin present will determine the length of the incision.

Learn More About Body Contouring Treatment

To learn more about tummy tuck surgery and your many options out there for body contouring and sculpting, be sure to contact a skilled cosmetic plastic surgeon. We at Crawford Plastic Surgery are here to help.