This patient in her 40s had a full tummy tuck with liposuction-contouring of the upper abdomen and flanks using power-assisted liposculpture (PAL). She was 152cm tall and weighed 58kg preoperatively. We removed 1350cc of lipoaspirate and excised 1061g of tissue. The advantages of liposuction include more fat removal than tummy tuck alone, including areas that a tummy tuck doesn’t improve such as the love handles (flanks) and the back. However, there are increased costs and risks which are discussed in more detail on the Liposuction Contouring page. This is an early postoperative result only 6 weeks after surgery, showing an excellent contour with minimal swelling. The immature scars have mild pigmentation and puckering at each end of the incision because it typically takes a year or more for scars to fade and soften. We recommend patients wear an abdominal binder for 3 weeks after surgery to minimize swelling then gradually return to full activities by 6 weeks postoperatively. Some patients will continue to wear a faja or other support garment for several months and/or arrange to have lymphatic massage of the abdomen. While this lymphatic massage after tummy tuck is not required to get a good cosmetic outcome in my experience, patients may do so at their discretion.
Disclaimer: Similar results cannot be guaranteed since outcomes vary among patients.
