What Is A Mini Tummy Tuck?
So What Is a Mini Tummy Tuck
Patients ask me every day, “What is a Mimi tummy tuck?” and how different is a mini tummy tuck vs full tummy tuck?
A mini tummy tuck is a small-scale version of the traditional abdominoplasty. Mini tummy tucks are best for people with small to moderate amounts of loose skin and fat on their lower abdomen. Doctors typically recommend that individuals who want a mini tummy tuck be close to their ideal weight and have no separation in the abdominal muscles typically associated with pregnancy, especially multiple ones, or extensive weight loss.
When the removal of excess skin is restricted to the area below the belly button, a mini tummy tuck may be the ideal procedure.
After your mini tummy tuck, you should expect some bruising and swelling for about one week after the operation. Most people take about two weeks off from work, then gradually ease back into strenuous or high-impact activity over the next three weeks.
Takeaway: Mini tummy tucks might be a good option if you only have a small amount of excess skin and fat around your lower abdomen.
The Benefits of a Mini Tummy Tuck
One of the benefits of a mini tummy tuck is that the original belly button is not disrupted and is only slightly pulled down, creating an attractive upper belly button hood while the pubic skin incision line is repaired. In a swimsuit, the belly button is what gives away whether someone has had a tummy tuck. A poorly executed tummy tuck, the belly button looks stretched and unnatural.
Other benefits include:
Smaller Incision
A full and mini tummy tuck's purpose is to eliminate excess, stubborn abdominal tissue and sagging skin. However, the mini tuck is for the lower abdomen, targeting tissue below the belly button.
Most of the time, the incision is shorter, resulting in less scarring. Each case is unique, and your surgeon will tell you how long your incision needs to be to prevent leaving excess skin or "dog ears." The deliberate placement should be low in the pubic region, making a mini tummy tuck scar easier to conceal below the bikini line.
However, each surgery has to be evaluated and sometime scars may need to be longer as in the case of a mini tummy tuck after c-section. If your surgeon is redoing an existing scar, they have to take that into consideration when you have your tuck.
Less Time in Surgery
A traditional abdominoplasty can take 2-4 hours, depending on the complexity. A mini tummy tuck is generally 1-2 hours. Of course, if you are having other procedures like liposuction, your surgery will last longer.
A mini tummy tuck can be done under local or general anesthesia depending on your surgeon and other procedure you may be having at the same time.
Shorter Recovery Time
A mini tummy tuck requires much less correction than a full tummy tuck with muscle repair and more excess skin. For patients, that translates into less downtime in all areas of their lives. A mini tummy tuck will enable you to return to work a week after your procedure, vs. a full tuck can be two to three weeks of limited activity. Patients can expect to return to other routine activities as early as 1 to 2 weeks following surgery.
Who Is The Perfect Mini Tummy Tuck Patient?
Are you a mini tummy tuck candidate?
Fat localized between the pubic area and the belly button is notoriously difficult to eliminate. Even with diligent exercise programs and eating right, this body area will hold on to fat. And if you do manage to lose the weight, often loose skin remains. In these cases, a mini tummy tuck can be ideal for flattening and toning the midsection.
People who have this procedure need to be in relatively good health, and the closer to their ideal weight, the better.
Good candidates for a mini tummy tuck have minimal to moderate excess skin in the lower abdominal area and cannot be removed by liposuction alone or scarless skin tightening. It helps if the patient possesses a high-positioned belly button.
Patients with extensive surgeries on their stomach area, like a cesarean section, might need to consider other options, including a full tummy tuck due to scarring or other issues.
The last criterion for the perfect patient for a mini tummy tuck is one that trusts the recommendation of their surgeon. By in large, when it comes to tummy tucks, the right procedure is clear-cut. Each type addresses the issues of loose abdominals to make the right correction that will give you, as a patient, the results you are paying for. So, if you have modest loose skin and extra fat BELOW your navel with no muscle separation, a mini tuck is likely your best option.
If you have extensive loose skin and more than moderate fat deposits, you may need what is called an extended tummy tuck. If you trust your surgeon to produce the results you say you want, follow their recommendation. Make sure all your questions are answered and you feel the relationship is a good fit.
Combining A Mini Tummy Tuck and VASER Liposuction
The most noteworthy benefit of having VASER liposuction and a tummy tuck together is that your surgeon can address exercise-resistant fat while removing loose skin. Plus, you will only need to schedule one surgery and one recovery period vs. two surgeries with two procedures and recoveries.
Another possible benefit of a combined VASER lipo and abdominoplasty procedure is your surgeon may be able to eliminate the need for post-surgical drains.
An aesthetic benefit when combining a tummy tuck with VASER liposuction is that you maximize body contouring results in a way that isn't possible with either procedure done separately. Extra fat and loose skin go hand-in-hand, so addressing both cosmetic concerns simultaneously is an efficient and effective approach.
If you are combine a tummy tuck with several other procedures, like a mommy makeover, your recovery and preparations before and after surgery will be more extensive. Chances are, if you had more than one pregnancy, you will need a full tummy tuck. Not all women need a full tuck but be open to hear from your surgeon what they think, giving your body’s needs.
Swelling takes several months to completely go down. That is when you will see your new, finishing contours.