Patients routinely come to my clinic to have their abdomens enhanced. The first thing they ask for is liposuction, not understanding that not everybody is a candidate for liposuction. After a physical exam, I can determine if liposuction will be the procedure indicated for your enhancement of the abdomen.
I can tell you that if you have any of the following characteristics before surgery, most likely you are going to need a tummy tuck.
- If you are overweight, you have gained or lost weight many times, and yourskin has been stretched, which means that the only way to remove this excess skin is by cutting it off.
- If you have stretch marks, this is a sign of skin that has lost its elasticity. If you have liposuction in this case, your abdomen is going to look lumpy, bumpy, and uneven.
- If you have been pregnant before, there is a high chance that you will require a tummy tuck, even if you do not have stretch marks. This is because when the skin is stretched by the expanding uterus, its elasticity is damaged. In addition, pregnancy causes what is called weakness in the abdominal wall, and the tissue between the muscles is stretched significantly, resulting in separation, which increases the girth of your abdomen.
- If you can grab your abdomen skin and significantly stretch the skin, even if you have not been pregnant or you have a very significant amount of fat, your skin might be very inelastic due to genetic variables. In addition, if you tan routinely, your skin loses elasticity and is damaged.
Understanding your skin tone and elasticity as well as the issue of excess skin is important to determine the most appropriate procedure for you.