Abdominoplasty is often performed for various reasons. One common reason is patients may have stretch marks after childbirth or other patients may simply have excess skin of their lower abdomen that they can’t lose from working out. Occasionally patients undergo liposuction to improve on this skin contour. In younger patients who have skin with great elasticity, liposuction may be able to remove underlying fat with the hopes that the skin will contract and improve the contour. This can work in younger patients who have skin that is devoid of stretch marks and with skin that has good elasticity. In patients older than 40-50 the ability of the skin to retract decreases. In these patients, liposuction may be able to decrease the “inches” of the abdominal wall, but often excess skin will remain. In these patients an abdominoplasty can help improve the contour. The typical “complaint” that we hear from patients is that when they sit at the side of the pool the skin hangs over the bathing suit. These patients are often good candidates for an abdominoplasty to excise or remove the abdominal skin.
The photographs demonstrate before and after abdominoplasty to improve the appearance of the lower abdominal skin. The satisfaction rate in abdominoplasty patients is very high.
