There is a huge misconception on what liposuction can do in terms of the aesthetic of the abdomen. Every time and every day that I have clinic, I have this discussion with patients with significant weight and large belly, stretch marks, etc. Many times they have the impression that they want to have this lipo to improve their belly. Liposuction is not a procedure indicated alone for most patients. When you perform liposuction, it is routinely believed that liposuction tightens your skin. There is some truth to some extent, but these are patients that have very good skin tone and the inflammation and the heat provided by the equipment will retract the skin to some extent, causing the area to heal properly. Most patients who do not take care of themselves will have excess fat, poor elasticity, and in these patients the contrary will occur. If you perform liposuction, you are going to have more excessive skin, more sagginess, lumpiness, bumpiness, and your belly is going to look uneven. So how do you know if liposuction will not tighten your skin? Well for starter if you have babies and you have poor skin tone, most likely lipo alone is not going to do the trick, and this needs to be combined with the tummy tuck. If you can grab your skin and pull it significantly, lipo is not going to tighten your skin. If you are significantly overweight, most likely liposuction is not going to tighten your skin. In other words, in most patients liposuction is not a tightening procedure. Lipo is an add-on procedure to other cosmetic techniques to improve your body. This procedure essentially is a contour procedure, not a tightening procedure, so if you have issues with excess skin in your belly, poor elasticity of your skin, then liposuction combined with a tummy tuck will be the solution for you.