The term tummy tuck has entered popular culture, much as the general term of liposuction is well known and understood by just about anyone today. But what about the specifics here of a tummy tuck. And more specifically, what is it that makes a mini tummy tuck different from a full tummy tuck?
The difference in large part relates to the scope and “size” of the work being performed. In a standard full tummy tuck, the initial incision made into the body is larger and more prominent, extending above the pubic area from one hip to the next. This results in a large portion of skin to work with, or, in other words, a larger portion of skin to remove.
Additionally, while the abdominal muscles may or may not always be tightened in a mini tummy tuck, in the course of performing a full tummy tuck, the doctors have the ability to access and tighten more muscle, more easily, than they do when performing a mini tummy tuck.
Another difference relates to the that of the belly button. Because a tummy tuck targets the excess skin around the waist, upon its removal, it’s common for the surgeons to move the belly button by creating a new belly button hole and reposition the belly button stalk to this new hole. When performing a full tummy tuck, this is always part of the procdure, whereas when performing a mini tummy tuck, the belly button may or may not be repositioned, as needed.
Other differences include how the surgery is combined with other procedures. Patients are more likely to extend the services of the surgeon performing a full tummy tuck with other cosmetic surgery procedures, such as work on the breasts (not simply breast implants necessarily but work effects the size as well as the shape of the breasts) and the removal of additional body fat (via liposuction).
Finally, another difference is in the cost of these two procedures. As you can imagine, the cost of a full tummy tuck runs highter than how much a mini tummy tuck costs.
The mini tummy tuck is truly a miniaturized version of the full tummy tuck, and many of the differences can be thought of in this way, with all the details being relative from one procedure to the other in scope, size, cost, and recovery.
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