If you’re wondering what the differences are between a mini tummy tuck vs full tummy tuck, I have some bad news. Chances are you’re not a candidate for a mini tummy tuck. I know the “mini” sounds better. Less painful. Shorter recovery. Less expensive. Those might all be true, but you’re probably not a candidate. Here’s why.
Mini tummy tuck vs full tummy tuck
A mini tummy tuck is perfect for a marathon runner with rock hard abs and minimal excess skin. Maybe they just have a little roll of skin above their C-section scar. And somehow, miraculously, their pregnancy didn’t leave them with an abdominal bulge, aka rectus diastasis.
A mini tummy tuck can remove that small roll of skin with no need to tighten the abdominal wall with a rectus plication and no need for liposuction. We’re not all that lucky.
A full tummy tuck will require a longer incision to remove more skin. Liposuction will be necessary to improve the waistline and remove the love handles. The patient will need a rectus plication to tighten the abdominal wall because no amount of exercise will flatten the tummy. The bigger incision is necessary, not only to remove excess skin, but also to gain access to the abdominal wall to do all of that tightening and lipo.
If you’ve heard of an extended tummy tuck, that’s nothing more than a longer incision to get excess skin that extends out further. If the skin extends all the way around, some doctors will call that a circumferential tummy tuck. Other will call it a body lift.
Video of Mini tummy tuck vs full tummy tuck
No matter what you call it, you can check pricing for all of them here.
Click here for the original blog post written by Dr. Kaplan for BuildMyBod.
