Mini tummy tuck with muscle repair

If you are considering a mini tummy tuck with muscle repair, then you will have a bulge in your lower abdomen with separation of your rectus abdominis (six pack) muscles.

A mini tummy tuck is good at addressing the fullness in your lower abdomen but one of the main benefits is that it does not give a scar around the belly button.

This means that we cannot get above the belly button when we perform a mini tummy tuck.  However, the laxity in the six pack muscles is usually above the belly button, so this cannot be reached with a mini tummy tuck.

This means that muscle repair during a mini tummy tuck is limited and for a full muscle repair, a full tummy tuck is needed.

Benefits of a mini tummy tuck

There are obvious benefits with a mini tummy tuck:

• the scar in the lower abdomen is shorter
• no scar around the belly button
• fewer complications
• quicker recovery

However the extent of skin excision that can be performed is also limited due to the limited scarring.

Limitations of a mini tummy tuck

If you have fullness across your whole abdomen and particularly above the belly button with separation (divarification) of the rectus muscles, it is a full tummy tuck that will be needed to address this completely.
While nobody wants the extra scarring and recovery associated with a full tummy tuck, the possibility of a mini tummy tuck with muscle repair is not one that can be realistically achieved.

If separation of the rectus muscles is a significant problem for you, then you will be better off having a full tummy tuck.

Can you have muscle repair with a mini tummy tuck?

Muscle repair is a part of a full tummy tuck, but it is not routinely performed during a mini tummy tuck.

If you need muscle repair, then the obvious answer would be to have a full tummy tuck, however, not everyone is a suitable candidate for a full tummy tuck.  You need to have enough loose skin in your abdomen because all of the skin from the belly button to the pubic area is removed.  If you look at before and after photographs, you can see how much skin and fat is removed which means that the rest of the skin of your abdomen needs to be able to stretch and pull down to close the defect.

If you do not have enough loose skin for a full tummy tuck and just want a mini tummy tuck to address your lower abdomen, then the muscle could be reached by dividing the base of the belly button which is known as ‘floating the belly button’ although this runs potential risks for the future if you were to need a full tummy tuck.

It is a difficult situation if you are considering a mini tummy tuck with muscle repair and I discuss it in one of my Facebook Live Q&A’s below:

Summary

If you have just a mild fullness in the lower abdomen with separation of the abdominal muscles, you are in a slightly complicated situation because mini tummy tuck with muscle repair comes with its limitations.

It is always best to talk to a fully trained plastic surgeon with experience in body contouring so that you can go over the pros and cons of full versus mini tummy tuck with and without muscle repair.

For more information about tummy tucks you can download our free guide and if you have any questions you can contact us on 0121-454 3680.

I do a live Q&A every Tuesday at 7 pm on Facebook so feel free to comment or ask a question.

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