This article explains the effects patients want from the mini tummy tuck, the general procedures surgeons use, and how this is different to the normal tummy tuck surgery. This will be a quick way to understand fundamental differences between these two popular types of plastic surgery.
The mini tummy tuck is likely to be advised only for patients looking to remove excess tissues between their belly button and the top of their bikini line (generally at the level of the pubic bone). A typical surgical candidate might be a lady who has had two or three pregnancies and finds it now impossible to regain tight abdominal muscles by using dieting and exercise that used to work for her. Patients of mature years also sometimes choose the operation as their abdominal muscles may naturally become less firm with time. Or it may be chosen by someone who has ongoing but mild fluctuations with their weight. Whatever the reason, everyone wants the same thing – a flatter, toned looking tummy again.
The surgery generally involves an incision of around 10 to 15 centimetres length being performed horizontally on the skin above the bikini line. Then the surgeon cuts away excess skin and any unwanted adipose (fatty) tissue, perhaps also employing liposuction during the operation. Liposuction means a cannula is manipulated within the adipose tissues to loosen them before they are entirely removed by suction through the body of the cannula for disposal. Patients with damage to their abdominal muscles can have them strengthened with suturing techniques during the same operation, for example, ladies with damage through multiple childbirths. Although it still uses incisions and tissue removal, the operation is different to a full tummy tuck in many respects.
The operation takes much less time on average then the full tummy tuck. It may last an hour or so, whereas the tummy tuck tends to push more over the two hours marker. The navel is generally not repositioned, whereas this is more often needed during the full tummy tuck and accounts for some of the reason why the time on the operating table is quite different. The incisions used also tend to be smaller than those for the full tummy tuck.
There is something about the name mini tummy tuck that makes it sound a little less invasive than the full tummy tuck but in reality they are both really quite major surgical operations requiring a very skilled team and a good recovery plan. No surgery is ever guaranteed free from risk and this raises the education the surgical team offer to patients before surgery – it really should explain all the risks to allow them to make their informed choice. You can now understand the effects of the mini tummy tuck on the lower abdomen, the general principles of the operation, the basic differences between it and full tummy tucks and the fact it is unfortunately, a little shorter but never entirely risk free. For full details and medical advice patients must of course consult their doctors and/or surgical teams.
RS Brown blogs as part of determined team writing calm balanced words on services people try to feel younger and more attractive. The team expose the benefits and the important risks of the tummy tuck surgery and give timely exposure to evidence on the contraversial world of medical tourism.
