Reviews posted by real patients and a plastic surgeon’s before-and-after photos are 2 of the most popular tools women and men considering tummy tuck surgery rely on before choosing a surgeon. While reviews provide first-person accounts of a patient’s experience that are self-explanatory, knowing what to look for in before-and-after photos isn’t as clear. That’s true for patients thinking about a tummy tuck or a Mommy Makeover at our Denver practice.
We believe there are 3 key elements to look for when reviewing a surgeon’s tummy tuck before-and-after photos, and we’ll explain in this blog post why they are important.
What Does a Tummy Tuck Do?
Before discussing what to look for in before-and-after photos, though, it’s important to understand why someone gets a tummy tuck. Women and men who lose a significant amount of weight, or women who have had one or more pregnancies, are often left with stretched abdominal skin that doesn’t “snap back” to fit their bodies’ new contours. Exercise and dieting are no help. It can be disheartening for someone to make the effort to lose weight and then remain self-conscious about his or her body because of excess skin.
A tummy tuck is a transformational solution that provides long-lasting results by removing the excess skin and, when needed, repairing abdominal muscles stretched during pregnancy.
3 Elements of Tummy Tuck Before-and-After Photos
If you skim the “after” photos of tummy tuck patients, you’ll see the absence of excess skin. That’s pretty impressive all by itself. But there are nuances that separate good results from great outcomes.
Low, Inconspicuous Scar
The Instagram post below features a patient who came to our practice after undergoing a tummy tuck with another plastic surgeon. Her disappointing results demonstrate the importance of making a linear incision that can be concealed by bikini briefs. Dr. Vath corrected the results beautifully by performing tummy tuck revision surgery. A tummy tuck incision stretches from hip bone to hip bone and should be made just above the pubic area.
A Natural-Looking Bellybutton
Few people think about the appearance of their bellybuttons. During a full tummy tuck, though, they can be the key to patient satisfaction. When the surgeon stretches your abdominal skin during a tummy tuck and removes a significant amount, your proportions shift–and your former bellybutton is lost in the process. Surgeons create a new opening for the existing umbilical stalk.
An excellent plastic surgeon devotes extra time in the OR to make sure that the belly button looks natural. It shouldn’t appear like a circle, but too narrow a slit is also an undesirable result. It really should look like the patient was born with this belly button. Additionally, the skin and fat around the belly button should be “tacked down” during surgery to create a natural “funneling” effect. A “too flat” tummy is also a tale-tell sign someone has had a tummy tuck. Again, the revision tummy tuck patient shown in the above Instagram post displays the difference that you should look for in before-and-after photos.
A Contoured Abdomen
Plastic surgeons used to consider a flat, featureless abdomen the ideal tummy tuck result. That’s no longer the case as surgeons use a more artistic eye to create contours and curves that look more natural. This is accomplished by including liposuction during the tummy tuck procedure. Liposuction—sometimes referred to as liposculpture because surgeons use it to shape figures in addition to extracting fat—is an essential technique that sculpts the area above the bellybutton.
If you’re thinking about losing weight after a tummy tuck and lipo, that could affect the results. You should discuss your plans with your plastic surgeon during the consultation.
Test what you’ve learned in this post by browsing our gallery of tummy tuck before-and-after photos. You can contact us using the online form to request a consultation with one of our board-certified plastic surgeons or call us at (303) 278-2600 (Golden) or (303) 951-2100 (Denver) to schedule an appointment.
I have diastasis and my stomach hurts all the time. I’m just looking for help to get this problem fixed. I’d also like to get pricing and also to see if you work with payment plans. Thank you so much for your time
Hi Regina,
At the time of writing this (8/3/21), a Tummy Tuck costs approximately $14,360 – $15,920. This includes the surgeon’s fee, garment, operating room, anesthesia, all of your before and after care.
We do require payment in full 2 weeks before surgery, but up until that time, you are welcome to pay us in the increments and frequency that works for you. We do also accept CareCredit and honor their 6 and 12 month NO-interest plans and all of their WITH-interest plans that go anywhere from 24-60 months.