Tummy tuck articles

I get many patients who come into my Baltimore office requesting a Tummy tuck. The Tummy tuck will give a much flatter tummy, and if they get liposuction around the love handle area, a drastic reshaping of the entire midsection. But the biggest drawback is the scar. It goes most of the time from hip bone to hip bone. Invariably, I get the question, can we do a Mini Tummy tuck? The patient is hoping to get most of what she needs with a smaller scar and a less involved surgery. What is the difference between the Tummy tuck and the Mini Tummy tuck?

In all other branches of medicine, a treating doctor assumes that the patient has some kind of medical problem that the doctor has to fix or make better. If the patient experiences some pain, gets a big scar, or has some side effects, it’s an acceptable trade off because it’s for the patient’s benefit to attain…

I recently had an inquiry from “Kim A” about abdominoplasty techniques. She asks whether the procedure is called a “U-M” Abdominoplasty or the “W-M” procedure? Well, the lettering can be pretty confusing. Unfortunately, there’s a big movement in plastic surgery to give procedures catchy names so that they can be given an aura of uniqueness. What I think is more important is that the patient understand his/her options so they can pick the procedure most appropriate for them.

Patients have recently been writing about the safety of multiple procedures. I would like to address the subject of multiple procedures such as a Tummy tuck combined with a Breast augmentation. Like you, I am also concerned about the safety of doing multiple surgeries at the same time on the same patient. Fortunately, recent advances in pre operative, operative, and post operative management allow me to do multiple surgeries safely and effectively. Preoperatively, we screen our patients carefully with the help of Internal Medicine specialists to make sure our patients are fit for surgery. We also inform the patient so that any drugs or herbs that can cause complications are avoided.

As a senior (a little over 60 years old) I had given continued thought and prayer to having Breast reduction surgery for a number of years (at least 30 or more). In the past few years the thought and prayers became more and more on my mind and approximately 2 years ago I went as far as having a consultation with a plastic surgeon. I don’t know if it was my frame of mind or exactly what all the reasons were, but I was not comfortable with the surgeon, his staff, or even the thought of continuing on with this surgery. I didn’t go back for a 2nd visit…

The question of whether to have a Tummy tuck or liposuction is a very common one. The two procedures address different problems. Liposuction deals only with fatty tissues, whereas Tummy tuck deals with muscle, skin, and fat. Some patients are candidates for lipo only, some for Tummy tuck only, and some could have either procedure, depending on their priorities. A candidate for liposuction only should have good skin tone. The skin will retract nicely after taking out the fat. Recovery time will be minimal, 7-10 days and you’re back to work. I like doing the procedure with a super fine cannula, and after surgery I apply foam pads to the skin to create the best possible smooth contour.

If you think that multiple cosmetic procedures are only for the rich and famous, think again! The ASPS (American Society of Plastic Surgeons) says that 38% of all patients have multiple procedures in the same operative session! It is increasingly common for patients to have multiple cosmetic procedures at the same time. In our Baltimore office, common plastic surgery procedure combinations including…

Every once in a while I get a patient that tells me that after Liposuction, they weigh the same, or may have even gained weight but their clothes fit better. So even though they are proud of their new figure, they are unhappy about the weight issue.   Your body weight is the product of how many calories you eat versus how many calories it takes to “run your body”. If you take some fat off, but do not change your intake of calories, you will slowly drift back to your preoperative weight. The only difference is…

In some cases where patients have a minimal pouch in the lower belly, the standard has been the “Mini tummy tuck.” An incision similar to that used for a “C section” is used to tighten the muscles below the belly button. At the same time a small amount of skin is taken out above the mons pubis. The procedure works well, but does not address the muscles above the belly button.  On the other hand…

I’m sitting here waiting for my next case, a Mini Tummy tuck. It is a natural tendency to want maximum results for minimal effort. That is why the words “mini Facelift”, mini this and that, are so popular today. The main thing to remember about these procedures is that they are limited versions of the original procedure designed for patients with a minimal defect.