Full Or Mini Tummy Tuck?

Do you ever mix up the words complement and compliment? How about affect and effect?

There are terms in the aesthetic world that are also hard to differentiate. For instance, what’s the difference between a full tummy tuck and a mini tummy tuck? Since Dr. Fedele performs both options of the popular procedure all the time, let’s end that confusion.

Full Tummy Tuck

If a woman has had children or has lost a large amount of weight, the skin, fat, and muscle in the abdomen can become over-stretched. This skin won’t return to its former degree of tautness. Try as you might, no matter how many crunches you do the loose skin will remain. Think of a rubber band that’s been stretched for a long time and when you take it off it isn’t as tight as it once was. This creates the “pooch” that none of us want on our lower belly.

A full tummy tuck tightens those muscles back to their former tautness, creating a flat abdominal wall. Excess skin and fat are removed.

If a full tummy tuck, Dr. Fedele makes an incision from hip to hip just below the bikini line. Usually, the belly button needs to be moved once the excess skin is trimmed away. In many full tummy tucks, Dr. Fedele will also make a second incision at the belly button to tighten skin on the upper abdomen.

Mini Tummy Tuck

A mini tummy tuck is good for patients who have just a small amount of excess abdominal skin and have some minor skin sagging due to aging. In a mini tuck, Dr. Fedele makes a shorter incision, again just below the bikini line. Underlying abdominal muscles are tightened, and excess fat is removed. Excess skin is also trimmed, but the navel isn’t relocated in a mini tuck.

Recovery

With a full tummy tuck, patients need to lay low for at least one to two weeks following the procedure, especially avoiding any lifting. Due to the cutting of skin and muscle, tummy tuck recoveries are not simple. Strenuous activity and any lifting must wait for at least six weeks. Patients can have residual soreness for weeks, even months in some cases.

Mini tucks require less recovery time due to the shorter incision, plus the lack of a second incision at the belly button.

Want to get back the abdomen of your youth? A tummy tuck with Dr. Fedele could be a great procedure for you. Call us at 216-464-1616.

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