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(941) 366-8897
2255 S Tamiami Trail, Sarasota, FL 34239

Tummy Tuck | Mini Tummy Tuck

Tummy Tuck/Mini Tummy Tuck in Sarasota, FL – Sarasota Plastic Surgery

From muffin tops to stretch marks, the abdominal area is a challenge for many of our patients. If a tight, flat tummy is proving elusive, consider a tummy tuck procedure at Sarasota Plastic Surgery Center.

Our team of board-certified plastic surgeons built our practice from the ground up. Our priority is treating each patient like family and providing the white-glove service our patients deserve, from their first visit through recovery. We look forward to welcoming you to our beautiful plastic surgery center, complete with an accredited on-site surgical facility. If you’re having tummy troubles, contact us to schedule your consultation and explore tummy tuck surgery with our team of aesthetic experts.

Tummy Tuck in Sarasota, FL at Sarasota Plastic Sugery

Before and after tummy tuck
Before and after tummy tuck
Before and after tummy tuck
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What Is a Tummy Tuck?

A tummy tuck, also called abdominoplasty, is one of the most popular surgical options for shaping and contouring the abdominal area. This procedure tightens stretched abdominal muscles and removes excess skin to restore a smoother, flatter appearance to the abdominal area. A tummy tuck can also include liposuction to remove/reposition fat from the tummy.

Patients commonly seek a tummy tuck after pregnancy or significant weight loss. Weight gain and pregnancy can stretch the skin and abdominal muscles, making it challenging – if not impossible – to return the tummy to a tight, flat shape without surgery.

There are many variations to tummy tuck surgery, including a traditional tummy tuck, a mini tummy tuck, and an extended tuck. Each patient receives a consultation with a board-certified plastic surgeon to determine which procedure will best meet their anatomical and aesthetic needs.

Am I a Good Candidate for a Sarasota Tummy Tuck?

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If you’re in excellent overall health and your abdominal appearance is troubling you, you may be a good candidate for a tummy tuck in Sarasota, FL. We encourage interested patients to reach out and schedule a consultation to explore their options and learn more. Our consultations are one hour long and cost $125.

Good candidates for a tummy tuck are men and women who have excess skin or muscle stretching in the abdominal area. This laxity is typical after weight loss or pregnancy but may also occur due to aging. Patients should be close to their ideal weight. Women should be finished with pregnancy and breastfeeding and not planning to bear future children. All surgery patients should stop smoking, if they currently use tobacco products. 

A Tummy Tuck at Sarasota Plastic Surgery: What to Expect on Surgery Day

Our surgeons use the latest surgical techniques to create transformative tummy tuck results for all patients. Your team can provide the most detailed information about what to expect from your surgery, though most tummy tuck procedures follow a similar surgical technique.

You will undergo surgery at our on-site surgical center while you are under general anesthesia. It is an outpatient procedure, but some patients with complicating factors may need to spend the night with us for careful monitoring.

In a full tummy tuck, the surgeon makes a long incision extending from hip to hip, located just over the pubic area. They place a second small incision around the belly button to reposition it to a more natural placement after skin excision. If needed, the surgeon performs liposuction to remove excess fat. The surgery tightens abdominal muscles and removes excess skin.

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To help patients maintain a long-lasting result, the surgeon sutures the abdominal muscles together, creating internal support and providing a firm, toned appearance. Patients who opt for a variation of the tummy tuck, like a mini tuck or an extended tummy tuck, will receive a modified form of abdominoplasty. Your surgeon will create a customized plan to address your areas of concern safely and effectively.

Mini tummy tuck

The procedure is like a traditional tummy tuck, but only impacts the area below the navel. The surgeon removes a small amount of skin from the lower abdomen and may add liposuction. This procedure is ideal for patients in relatively good shape with good skin tone.

Extended tummy tuck

Patients who have lost significant weight may require major skin tightening and body shaping. These patients often benefit from a more extensive tummy tuck called an extended tummy tuck. The incision may extend around the navel, flank, and lower back, depending on which areas require tightening. As with a traditional tummy tuck, the surgeon repositions the navel.

Recovery After Abdominoplasty

A tummy tuck is an extensive surgical procedure and requires a recovery period of up to six weeks. We recommend that patients rest exclusively for the first 48 hours. After the first two days, we recommend gentle movement to keep blood flowing properly and to reduce the risk of post-surgical complications.

Most patients will need prescription pain medications during the early phases of recovery to reduce discomfort so they can rest and heal. You’ll need to wear a compression garment to hold healing tissues in place and ensure a smoother, more even result. Patients meet with their surgical team several times during recovery to assess healing. We are available for questions or concerns.

Tighten up your tummy with a tummy tuck at Sarasota Plastic Surgery Center. If you’re interested in learning more about this procedure, call our office at (941) 366-8897 or contact us online.

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FAQs About Sarasota, FL, Tummy Tuck

A tummy tuck tightens up skin and muscle, while liposuction removes fat. While these two procedures have different objectives, they are often complementary to each other. During your consultation, your surgeon will determine if liposuction can help you enhance your tummy tuck procedure. 

Scarring is inevitable after a tummy tuck, but our careful suturing and incision placement minimize scarring as much as possible. Your incision line will be low on your abdomen, in an area you can easily hide with undergarments or a bikini bottom. If you have previous C-section scarring, we’ll follow the previous incision to prevent creating a new scar. Our post-operative recovery instructions also include a scar protocol – tips to ensure scars heal as discreetly as possible. Most patients find the improvement in their abdominal shape and tone fully offsets any scarring that occurs.

We do not recommend pregnancy after a tummy tuck. During pregnancy, the abdomen must accommodate a quickly growing baby, stretching the skin and muscles. This rapid expansion can offset many of the positive changes provided by a tummy tuck. We recommend that patients wait to schedule their abdominal surgery until they are no longer planning on bearing future children. Pregnancy is safe after a tummy tuck; just not recommended.

The cost of your tummy tuck at Sarasota Plastic Surgery Center will depend on many factors, including the extent of your surgery, any additional treatments you plan to receive, and your case’s complexity. Our surgeons will provide a detailed estimate during your consultation.

A tummy tuck provides a dramatic abdominal transformation on its own. For a total-body transformation, many patients choose to combine this treatment with other procedures. After pregnancy, many women turn to a mommy makeover to restore their body to a more youthful shape. A mommy makeover combines procedures like a tummy tuck, breast surgery, and liposuction. A tummy tuck may also be part of a body lift procedure after massive weight loss.

During weight loss, fat cells throughout your body are affected. Weight loss and your ideal weight are determined by where your body stores fat. If your weight is located primarily on your hips or thighs, you do not need to lose as much weight. The important fat to lose is stored in the abdomen, especially high in the upper abdomen. Too much intra-abdominal fat, fat surrounding the organs, increases tummy tuck risks and limits the results our expert surgeons can provide.

The upper abdomen begins to deflate and curves in rather than bulges as you lose weight. When you experience this issue, it’s a good sign that you’ve lost sufficient weight.

Tummy tucks are effective body contouring procedures for men or women with excess sagging skin, loose abdominal muscles, or small pockets of fat affecting abdominal appearance. Excess skin can be caused by factors such as pregnancy, weight fluctuations, or aging. Tummy tucks improve the contours of the body that are resistant to change with diet and exercise alone.

Tummy tucks aim to achieve a tight, firm abdomen to create a more pleasing body contour—something that weight loss and dieting alone can never achieve. Recovery time varies for each patient; however, typically, over the 6 months following your tummy tuck, swelling and bloating will decrease, and your new contours will become more visible.

During your consultation, our expert team will explain the different procedures to help you determine which surgery will be most effective for your unique situation. Mini tummy tucks are ideal for patients who have issues below the navel only. Extended tummy tucks are ideal for patients who have experienced significant weight loss and require tightening the skin around the navel, flank, and lower back.