I’m sitting here waiting for my next case, a Mini Tummy Tuck. It is a natural tendency to want maximum results for minimal effort. That is why the words “mini facelift”, mini this and that, are so popular today. The main thing to remember about these procedures is that they are limited versions of the original procedure designed for patients with a minimal defect. Be aware that mini procedures can also mean mini results. Not everybody is a candidate, but some are.
Mini Tummy tuck is lower abdomen only
The patient we are operating on today is athletic, not overweight, but after a pregnancy developed a pouch below the belly button which she just could not get rid of. She wanted Liposuction. Her real problem is that the muscle in the lower belly had been stretched by the pregnancy. This can’t be tightened by exercise. You need to tighten the muscles by showing them together like a corset. If her skin had been a little tighter, I could have done the entire case through the belly button (no visible scar). Since her skin is a little loose and she already has a C-section scar, I will use this scar as a way to get in and tighten the muscles.
Liposuction compliments Mini Tummy tuck
I will also Liposuction around her waist. That bulge around the waist is the last thing you lose on a diet and the first to come back when you gain a couple of pounds. It also has a big visual effect when you look at yourself from the front. Liposuction here has a big visual impact because it makes you look sleek from the waist to the hips. Time to go. I’m really going to enjoy this case.
(article originally published on Oct 27, 2005)
