Ask a Beverly Hills CA plastic surgeon, ‘What is the difference between a tummy tuck and liposuction?’

If you’re unhappy with excess around your middle, you may already be somewhat familiar with liposuction and abdominoplasty or tummy tuck. While both procedures can be used to improve your appearance following pregnancy or weight fluctuations, they have differing levels of complexity, discomfort, recovery, and cost. Here Board-certified plastic surgeon Dr. Dass and the team discuss the difference between a tummy tuck and liposuction in Beverly Hills CA. We encourage you to call (855) 496-4646 for more information and to arrive at the best solution for your needs.

Liposuction overview

Dr. Dass uses small tubes or microcannulas to suction out fat. The procedure may be used on the abdomen, and many other areas such as:

• Chin
• Arms
• Chest (men with gynecomastia)
• Back
• Flanks
• Thighs

Fat may even be transferred from these areas to an area that could use some augmenting, such as your butt or hands. See the beautiful difference in the “before and after” photos on this website!

Tummy tuck overview

Both mini and full abdominoplasty procedures remove excess skin and fat, and tighten abdominal muscles weakened due to childbirth, for example. The mini version involves removing skin below the belly button, while the full tummy tuck removes skin above and below the belly button.

Considerations

A few of the considerations that may make you more of a candidate for one procedure versus the other:

• How thick is your fat layer? How much can you pinch? You might benefit from liposuction or lifestyle changes to reduce fatty thickness.
• How much of an issue is loose skin? If laxity is a significant problem, skin tightening with a tummy tuck may be your gold standard.
• Abdominal wall or muscle laxity takes some evaluating. If Dr. Dass determines this is an issue, he’ll recommend a technique that involves tightening the muscle layer.

It’s important to not think so much in terms of “either, or.” You may be a candidate for lipo first, and then at some point have a tummy tuck if needed. Likewise, unwanted fat may be suctioned out before abdominoplasty when the excess skin is then removed, and muscles are tightened.