There is a group of patients who have an excess of fat, but the skin quality is good and there isn’t a lot of laxity. These patients typically do excellent with liposuction alone. Even with a small amount of skin laxity or excess, they may do very well with liposuction alone or in combination with a skin tightening procedure.
Some patients have the opposite situation, where they have a small amount of fat but an excess of skin. This is common after significant weight loss, especially after weight-loss surgery. It can also occur after pregnancy. These patients often do not require significant fat removal via liposuction, but need skin excision to improve their contour. They do excellent with tummy tuck.
Most patients fall somewhere in between, and have some fat excess as well as skin laxity or excess. So, Liposuction vs Tummy Tuck? Because of this, a lot of patients benefit from some liposuction with skin excision. The skin excision depends on the amount of excess, and can vary from a mini-tuck to a circumferential tummy tuck/body lift. The consultation process is crucial in determining what is the best procedure for each individual patient to ensure a great outcome. For more information, call our office at (770) 464-5485.
Daniel Park, MD