Mini Tummy Tuck Improves Lower Abdominal Contour in Raleigh, NC*

This 43-year-old woman maintained a good fitness level but over the years felt her lower abdomen really was too loose. She felt it showed in bathing suits. She did not have enough laxity to warrant a full abdominoplasty, so a mini tummy tuck was performed. This involved a small amount of lower abdominal skin removal with repair of her laxity of her abdominal wall with a rectus plication. The result is a flatter lower abdominal appearance. Mini Tummy tuck is performed much less often than a full abdominoplasty. Patients frequently believe that just restricting the incision to a previous Caesarian section scar will manage loose skin over the lower abdomen, but the incision usually has to be made longer to remove skin excess. C section scars are often depressed or tethered and revising them during a mini abdominoplasty can improve the area above the mons- but almost always with a longer scar. Liposuction is often added to Mini abdominoplasty to more comprehensibly address the appearance of the aging abdomen.