If you feel insecure about unwanted fat pads on your stomach due to weight fluctuation, pregnancy, or aging, RL Center for Cosmetic Surgery and Medspa is here for you. Aesthetic medicine offers various customized options to achieve a sleek and toned midsection.
Board-certified plastic surgeon Dr. Leonard Lu helps his patients achieve sleek midsections with procedures like tummy tuck and liposuction or a combination of the two. If you’ve been dieting and exercising for ages, yet are still seeking a solution to sculpt your abdomen, understanding the difference between liposuction and tummy tuck is an excellent place to start.
What Is Liposuction?
Abdominal liposuction and abdominoplasty share similar goals. A tummy tuck eliminates excess fat and skin and repairs damaged abdominal muscles from pregnancy or significant weight gain. Results include a firmer tummy with minimal fat bulges and loose skin.
Liposuction’s goal is to permanently remove stubborn fat with suction. Dr. Lu accomplishes this outcome by inserting a thin tube called a cannula into the incisions he makes in the abdominal area. Liposuction is a more flexible body sculpting procedure than abdominoplasty because it can address multiple trouble spots, including your back, thighs, and upper arms.
Dr. Lu uses specific criteria to determine which procedure best suits your cosmetic concerns – the severity of your cosmetic issue, the condition of your abdominal wall, and the amount of lax skin on your abdomen. Also, a tummy tuck is a more complicated surgery that requires an extensive recovery, which we will discuss below. But before reviewing recovery and other differences between these two procedures, let’s look at how each can help you achieve your body-shaping goals.
Can Liposuction or a Tummy Tuck Benefit You?
Though both procedures can help our patients achieve a sleeker midsection, they each have unique benefits to help you enhance your figure.
What Can Liposuction Do for You?
After weight loss, stubborn fat pads may remain, especially in your abdominal region. Fat distribution is unique to each patient, depending on variables like age, genetics, gender, and lifestyle.
Though liposuction is not a gender-specific surgery, women choose it at a significantly higher rate, especially after experiencing the hormonal fluctuations and body changes of pregnancy and menopause.
While Dr. Lu can perform liposuction to eliminate excess fat from your midsection or anywhere else on your body, it cannot address sagging skin. For that problem, you may need a tummy tuck.
How Does a Tummy Tuck Work?
If you already have a healthy body weight but struggle with excess skin and flab, tummy tuck surgery can help you regain a firm, flat belly. Dr. Lu performs abdominoplasty to help you look and feel better, resolve discomfort from poor posture, and reverse changes left by weight gain or pregnancy.
The surgery works to accomplish four goals:
- Remove excess fat and skin
- Tighten your abdominal wall and repair damaged or separated muscles
- Create a well-toned tummy with better-defined abs
- Reduce discomfort by strengthening your core
Liposuction typically suits patients under 40 because their skin is more resilient. However, people over 45 often benefit from a tummy tuck and its ability to tighten abdominal muscles.
Can You Combine Liposuction and Tummy Tuck Into One Procedure?
Because these procedures target specific concerns, many patients decide liposuction or abdominoplasty alone will suffice to help them meet their goals. Still, sagging skin and stubborn fat pockets often go hand in hand. Pairing liposuction with your tummy tuck will give you the most dramatic outcome of a fully restored, sleek abdomen.
How Combining the Two Works
Typically, Dr. Lu uses liposuction to remove fat from the abdominal flap. This method is the most straightforward process to shape the abdomen during surgery. However, he may also wish to address other fat deposits that can adversely affect a smooth result.
Your overall body contour is one of the most vital aspects of an aesthetically pleasing figure. For example, if you struggle with flabby thighs, a tummy tuck will not slim and tone your legs. But by adding liposuction to your abdominoplasty, Dr. Lu can simultaneously reduce your flank region.
Additional Options
Dr. Lu can also repurpose extracted fat deposits during your liposuction. For example, he can add volume to your backside to create a shapelier posterior. He can also use the fat removed during liposuction in a facial fat transfer.
Dr. Lu will determine if combining procedures will safely deliver the best results, based on your health history and other factors.
How Do You Decide Whether to Get Liposuction, Tummy Tuck, or Both?
If you’re considering plastic surgery, you must weigh the decision carefully. Though liposuction and tummy tucks can deliver a flatter, smoother abdominal contour, the surgeries, results, and recovery vary considerably.
- Procedures: Though abdominoplasty and liposuction have similar goals, Dr. Lu uses different techniques for each surgery.
- Results: Both techniques can provide a long-lasting improvement. However, excessive weight gain or loss can compromise their benefits. Without a disciplined diet and fitness regimen, any remaining fat cells can expand. Liposuction will leave your stomach flatter with less fat below the skin surface, while a tummy creates a firmer, more toned abdomen. If you want to eliminate sagging skin and strengthen your abdominal wall, a tummy tuck is best. If you only want to remove fat from your stomach or elsewhere, a stand-alone liposuction will help.
- Recovery: Liposuction recovery is about a week, while abdominoplasty requires two to three weeks. While you heal, you should avoid strenuous activity and take time off from work.
- Scarring: Scarring is a concern after any surgery. Liposuction leaves patients with tiny scars from the incisions for the cannula. This minimal scarring should fade and be almost invisible over time. On the other hand, a tummy tuck requires a longer incision that runs across the lower abdomen, strategically placed to allow your clothes to cover it. This scarring should also fade over time, but it will be more noticeable.
- Cost: Liposuction is a less complex procedure, so it is correspondingly more affordable. Dr. Lu will provide a detailed cost analysis after your consultation.
How Does Recovery Differ?
The healing process required for these procedures is significantly different.
- Liposuction: Each patient heals at a different rate, depending on the fat volume Dr. Lu removes from your abdomen. On average, it can take up to six months to heal entirely, but you should feel well enough to return to work after one week. You must relax during the initial days after surgery and avoid lifting heavy objects. Dr. Lu will provide a comprehensive list of do’s and don’ts to follow carefully while you recuperate.
- Tummy tuck: During your procedure, Dr. Lu will inject a long-lasting local anesthetic to block abdominal pain. This process will minimize using opioid pain meds during the first few days after surgery. In addition, he will ask you to refrain from strenuous activity for up to six weeks and prescribe a compression garment during that period to reduce fluid retention, inflammation, and bruising. You will likely have drains to allow excess body fluids to escape the area. Dr. Lu will remove these within a couple of weeks after surgery.
What Should You Expect During a Liposuction or Tummy Tuck Consultation?
Abdominoplasty and liposuction are like any surgery – they require a comprehensive consultation to inform the patient of options and what they can expect. They also help Dr. Lu understand your medical history and aesthetic goals. Here is how liposuction and tummy tuck consultations differ.
Liposuction
A liposuction consultation is paramount because aesthetic needs and goals differ among patients. During this process, you will review before-and-after photos from our gallery, Dr. Lu will check your medical history, and you will have time to ask questions and voice any concerns.
After your consultation, you will leave Dr. Lu’s office with a thorough, customized treatment plan to consider.
Tummy Tuck
To determine an optimal tummy tuck surgical plan, Dr. Lu will discuss the following during your tummy tuck consultation:
- Medical history
- Current medications
- Allergies (specifically to medications and anesthesia)
- Previous surgeries
- Drug, alcohol, and tobacco consumption
- Aesthetic goals
Dr. Lu may also take pictures of you. Finally, he will discuss options and answer any questions you have about abdominoplasty surgery.
What Are the Long-Term Results of Liposuction, Tummy Tuck, or Both?
Though many patients come to us with similar goals and expectations, their outcomes can be strikingly different because Dr. Lu customizes surgical plans for each person he works with.
Liposuction Benefits
Liposuction benefits are typically long-lasting, provided you maintain a stable weight and remain fit. Of course, your body will lose firmness with age, but your improvement should be relatively permanent.
It could take several months for the swelling to subside entirely, and during this time, your new contours and improved self-image should develop. Your new body contour will be visible once the swelling and fluid retention diminish.
Tummy Tuck Benefits
Without a doubt, tummy tuck surgery offers multiple cosmetic advantages that we’ve already discussed. But it can also correct medical concerns.
- Ventral hernia: A ventral hernia forms when abdominal tissue or intestine breaks through the abdominal wall to create a pouch or sack. This hernia may develop from abdominal weakness resulting from massive weight loss, a cesarean section, or an appendectomy. A tummy tuck can correct this problem by repairing weakened abdominal muscles and reducing pressure on tissues.
- Stress urinary incontinence: Stress urinary incontinence is a problem for many older adults. It happens when there is too much pressure on your urethra and bladder. SUI is uncontrollable leakage induced by sudden actions like coughing, sneezing, laughing, and exercising. It’s possible to treat this condition without surgery, but a tummy tuck may help women with SUI after childbirth. SUI can also affect men.
- Decreased back pain: Back pain is a common issue tummy tuck can address. After giving birth or losing weight, many women complain of back pain from weakened stomach muscles. Abdominoplasty surgically tightens the weakened abdominal wall, resulting in essential support to alleviate back discomfort.
- Improved posture: Better posture is a byproduct of stronger abdominal muscles and decreased back pain. You can stand up straighter and avoid the spinal issues that come with hunching.
Get Expert Advice for Your Aesthetic Goals
Choosing between cosmetic procedures can seem daunting, but you don’t have to make the decision on your own. To learn more about how we can help you on your journey, please reach out to our team at RL Cosmetic Surgery & Medspa by calling (847) 367-8815 or filling out this online form to arrange your one-on-one liposuction or tummy tuck consultation today. We are also available for virtual consultations!
