Tummy tuck vs mini tuck?

I'm scheduled for a laproscopic hysterectomy and am considering doing some tummy work or liposuction at the same time. I don't know whether the plastic surgeon can do anything with just using the laproscopic incisions for the tummy stuff? I've heard of a mini tummy tuck but I don't know the difference between that and a full tummy tuck. I hate to go thru the pains of the full abdominal incision for the tummy tuck when I could get by with laproscopic for the hysterectomy. DH doesn't want me to do it at all but I lost a LOT of weight 7 years ago, and told myself that if I kept it off 5 years, I'd do the plastic surgery (and I've kept it off 7!) Any advice?

I told my DR I would slip him an extra $20 if he would lipo and tuck in a few extra places and he wouldn't have anything to do with it, maybe I should have offered him $50, ya think?
I wish you luck but I myself had lost 75lbs after having 2 c-sections and I found that excersise got rid of all the extra flab and it was cheeper!

Thanks, mscorine. I was hesitant to mention it to the doctor, thinking he would tell me I couldn't do anything. So I was a little surprised when he said it was an option!

i think you need to have a plastic surgeon. i am having one operate with the gynecological surgeon. why don't you ask the gyno who he uses as a ps and go for a consult and find out what it would involve?

I had both my hyst and full tummy tuck done 3 weeks ago. I will tell you how it all came about.

When deciding on the hyst I asked my doctor, if he would mind if I brought in a plastic surgeon to follow him and have a tummy tuck done. He said "no, I don't mind - it's done more often than you think."

I then checked out a couple of tummy tuck sights and found an accredited plastic surgeon that had operating room priveledges (an important thing) at my hospital, made an appt. and talked with him.

Came to find out that he was in the same medical building and on the same floor as my gyn and that they had worked together before - silly me, I should have just asked my gyn. for the recommendation.

When the date for the hyst was booked I gave the surgery scheduler the name and number for the surgery scheduler to the plastic surgeons office. Between the 2 of them they came up with a date and time and then she called me and gave me my surgery date. Just know that you might have to wait some weeks longer than doing just one of the surgeries - because you have to coincide 2 surgeons' schedules. It's worth the wait. I would do it again in a heartbeat. My combo was a vaginal hyst with a tummy tuck. If you can go vaginal hyst - you'll recover better as the plastic surgeon only goes down a layer to the muscle as opposed to an abdominal hyst where they got through 7 layers - a lot harder to recover from. My advice? have the gyn do his job - a vaginal hyst. Let the plastic surgeon do what he does best with a "clean" slate - so to speak - where he makes his own cut where he needs it instead of trying to work with the incision that the gyn did. If you have any questions - go ahead and PM me.


A mini tuck is used for when there is small areas below the navel that need to be taken in. A full tummy tuck is used when the area that needs to be taken out is bigger and wider than what a mini will take care of. I had the full tummy tuck. Your plastic surgeon will know what is the best route for you.

MSCORINE -

I'm glad exercise and weight loss did it for you. I however an 5'5" and 110lbs. I could do a 1,000 situps everyday for 5 years and it wouldn't have done a single thing. After 2 pregnancies in which I got HUGE - carried all out front (at 4 months pregnant I looked 8 months). I only gained about 25 lbs. with each pregnancy but they had stretched out my skin so much that it never completely went back - something that exercise would not help. So.....not everyone can exercise it back. Sometimes loose skin is loose skin and will not go back - as was my case. I had about 12 inches of it and would tuck it into my pants like you do a t-shirt. Plus, with me getting so huge it split the muscle wall in half so I had no abdominal wall to support anything. Now, all the muscles are re-connected, abdominal wall strengthened and *bonus* - no more stretch marks - they went with all the extra skin. Plus I have a new sexy belly button - which took the place of the crooked, ugly, misplaced one I ended up with after the kids.

nancie - yes, I'm scheduled to meet with a ps next week. I just feel like I'm going in not knowing what to ask for and appreciate any advice I'm getting here!

ckshubin - thanks for relaying your story. I'll definitely ask about whether the ps can do his thing with 1 layer instead of 7. And I'm pretty sure I'd need the whole tummy tuck instead of a mini, based on what you said. (I was afraid of that!) My gyn wasn't planning to do it vaginally; he was going to pull everything out the punctures. I'm not sure which initials that is! I'm too new to this site!

But thanks everyone - I appreciate hearing your stories!

alemap24 -

So he was pulling it all out laparscopically? All the better. Easier recovery. Let him do that and then let the plastic surgeon come in afterwards and do what he does best. Really, it's not all that bad. If you do an abdominal hyst they have to move organs and muscles and all those wonderful things to get to your uterus. that causes trauma. If it was me i'd do the least invasive hyst (which sounds like an option) and then the tuck. Trust me, you'll love it!!!!

Check out www.tuckthattummy.com for more information!

i wish i could have mine other than abdominally but not possible due to the fibroid village and pregnant uterus. however, the plastic surgeon in my case will be doing his thing first, and then the hyst.

yes - the gyn will do the whole thing laproscopically, even pulling the ovaries out thru the punctures. Glad to know you think it's an option for him to still do that & then have the ps come in & do his thing without it being a major recovery. I didn't want a longer recovery just because of the tuck. And I'll go check out that website. Thanks, I didn't know about it!

alemap24 -

You can schedule them together but remember they are 2 totally different surgeries. Just make sure you tell the plastic surgeon that the hyst is being done laparscopically. He should be fine with it. what happens (or in my case) when my gyn was just about done the OR nurse called the plastic surgeon and he jogged over to the hospital (their offices are on the same property) scrubbed up and by that time my gyn was done. My gyn said he even stuck around to watch - said it was very interesting. When I went to see him tonight because of some unexplained bleeding (nothing's wrong) he asked if he could see the result of the tuck and when I showed he just said "Wow!" "You made an excellent choice to go ahead and do that!"