Blog Article
Tummy Tuck or Lipo?
Of all the areas of the body that people refer to as their “trouble areas”, the tummy is probably the most common. Problems ranging from stubborn belly fat to loose skin or weakened abdominal muscles can create unflattering body contours. If you’re making an earnest effort to improve your waistline and not seeing the results you want, it might be time to consider the next step. Depending on your specific needs, either a tummy tuck or liposuction could be right for you.
How’s Your Core?
The abdominal core muscles are a critical part of a toned waistline. While abdominal strength training exercises can help some people tone their cores, they won’t make a difference to anyone with diastasis recti. Diastasis recti is when the muscles of the abdominal wall separate, typically due to pregnancy or rapid/significant weight gain. Since these muscles normally hold your core in, diastasis recti essentially allows everything to loosen and gives you a constant belly pooch. This can make you look pregnant even when you’re not (especially after eating a meal).
The Solution: Tummy Tuck
The only effective solution for diastasis recti is a tummy tuck. If you have stretched or weakened core muscles due to pregnancy or significant weight fluctuations, a tummy tuck can help you reclaim your figure. During the procedure, your surgeon will mend your stomach muscles and repair the separation so that your core will remain stable and strong.
How’s Your Skin?
The quality of your abdominal skin will change over your lifetime due to various factors. People who have experienced major weight loss, pregnancy, and/or aging can develop sagging, loose skin in the abdominal area. Proper skin care, diet, and hydration can help maintain healthy abdominal skin; however, once the skin has become weakened and overstretched due to one or more of these factors, it loses the ability to naturally tighten and retract as it once could. In these situations, a skin tightening procedure may be necessary.
The Solution: Tummy Tuck
A tummy tuck can trim away excess loose, hanging skin and create a smoother waistline. After removing the excess skin, your surgeon will tighten the remaining skin to give your abdomen a flatter contour. Afterward, you will no longer have to deal with rippled, wrinkled, or sagging skin when you put on fitted clothing or bare your stomach during swimsuit season.
How’s Your Belly Fat?
Many people deal with persistent abdominal fat, especially in the lower belly. Stubborn belly fat can arise from a wide range of issues, including poor diet, excess alcohol consumption, sedentary lifestyle, stress, and more. Regular exercise and a healthy diet help to combat belly fat, but these measures can sometimes be insufficient (or even completely ineffective). If genuine, persistent effort has been made without yielding the desired results, surgical intervention can provide a solution.
The Solution: Liposuction With or Without Tummy Tuck
Liposuction can be performed virtually anywhere on the body to get rid of localized fat, and as such, it is the treatment of choice for stubborn belly fat. This procedure suctions excess fat cells from the body, eliminating “bulges” or “pudges” and producing flatter, firmer contours. Liposuction can be performed as a standalone procedure but may be combined with a tummy tuck for patients who also have concerns about loose skin and/or diastasis recti. Combining these two procedures together can combat all three of these issues and help you achieve the toned waistline you desire.
Take our virtual consultation to help you decide whether a tummy tuck or liposuction could be right for you. To learn more, schedule your personal consultation with Denver area board-certified plastic surgeon Dr. Richard Mouchantat. Call (303) 232-8585 or contact us online today.
