Atlantic Coast Aesthetics gets a lot of questions about liposuction and tummy tuck procedures, but this week’s ACA Question of the Week was unusual both for its detail and the circumstances surrounding it. Dr. Thomas Pane, ACA’s founder and Chief Medical Officer, was eager to answer this question because of the unique circumstances involved for the patient and the patient’s stated objectives, which gave him an opportunity to evaluate the differences between liposuction and tummy tuck procedures for our viewing audience. The question was: “I have an apple shape and am adopting a healthier lifestyle. I’d like to have a tummy tuck as soon as I can to remove some excess skin. However, my surgeon is telling me I can’t have a tummy tuck until after I’ve had my second child. I’m very unhappy with my looks and my body and really want to look and feel better. Can liposuction help me?”
Dr. Pane observed that this question covers a lot of ground. Ideally, he said, the best results from tummy tuck procedures come when the patient has a lot of loose skin, but not a great deal of subcutaneous abdominal fat. Because of the apple shape the patient describes, he noted that often fat deposits build up over and around the organs in the torso, which implies that liposuction may be helpful to sculpt the torso into a more aesthetically pleasing configuration for the patient.
Many surgeons are reluctant to perform tummy tuck procedures until the patient has completed their anticipated childbearing, primarily because of concern about further distension of the skin and possible need for revision of the original procedure. However, Dr. Pane pointed out that he is not “firmly in this camp,” preferring to adopt a case by case approach and evaluate each patient’s individual needs, medical history and objectives. While in some cases he may agree with the surgeon that tummy tuck or lipo may be inappropriate here, he also said that an in-person clinical evaluation would need to be completed before he could say one way or the other.
Normally, pregnancy does not do as much damage to the skin after a tummy tuck as most people believe, Dr. Pane said. The bigger potential problem is stretching on the abdominal muscles and the inside of the skin, not the outside. How a given woman carries a particular child, how the fetus rests within her body and other factors can influence how much or how little the pregnancy may impact a mother who has had previous lipo and tummy tuck procedures. Liposuction is not a weight-loss surgery, but if the patient is unwilling to wait years to complete childbearing or deciding whether she will have other children at all, he said it is reasonable to at least investigate what options and possibilities may exist for her specific circumstances.
Liposuction is generally not considered a go-to option for people with loose skin, although it can help alter the intra-abdominal fat and sculpt the area, nor is it intended as a substitute for diet and exercise-based weight loss. Liposuction deals with the removal and sometimes transfer of adipose tissue from a given area, while tummy tuck procedures are intended to help correct loose, hanging, stretched skin in the lower abdomen. While these procedures are sometimes done in tandem, it is also not uncommon for one or the other to be performed separately or not at all. However, in this circumstance, a clinical evaluation would help to determine what, if anything, can be done for this patient based on the overall goals and expectations she has.
For more information about cosmetic surgery, including liposuction, tummy tuck and other procedures you may be interested in, or if you have a question for Dr. Pane regarding plastic surgery, we invite you to reach out to us on our website at https://acplasticsurg.com, through our Facebook page or by phone at (514) 422-4116. We take great pride in making sure our patients have the most thorough possible knowledge and understanding of their options, so they can make educated decisions about their cosmetic surgery. Even more important, your question may be helpful to others out there who share your interests, questions and concerns but are more shy about speaking up. Your question could very well be our next ACA Question of the Week, answered by Dr. Pane in an upcoming Google Hangout for a live audience! Remember, there is only one bad question, and that’s the one you don’t ask. The more informed you are, the more likely you are to love the results of your procedure and the skin you’re in!