There are plenty of options available for people who want to improve the appearance of their midsections. In general, plastic surgery is something you consider only after traditional diet and exercise efforts have fallen short. In this case, liposuction or a tummy tuck at our Albany, NY, plastic surgery center can help you achieve your cosmetic goals. The first step is finding out which procedure—or maybe a combination of the 2—is right for you.
Tummy Tuck Candidates
Good candidates for a tummy tuck should be in good overall health and have realistic expectations for their results. It’s important to remember that this is not a weight loss procedure—patients should be close to their ideal weight before surgery.
Tummy tuck patients typically have loose skin and stretch marks on the lower abdomen plus abdominal muscle laxity. The procedure corrects these issues by removing a large amount of lower abdominal skin, redistributing the skin over the entire abdomen, and repositioning the belly button.
Additionally, some patients have diastasis recti, a condition in which the abdominal muscles become separated and which is usually caused by pregnancy. During the tummy tuck procedure, we can repair the separation using a special technique to tighten the muscles. This tightening not only enhances the appearance of the midsection, but also can help improve posture and reduce back pain.
Lastly, it’s important to note that good abdominoplasty candidates should be non-smokers. Smoking increases the risk of complications and should be avoided before any cosmetic procedure.
See real patient photos of tummy tuck results.
Liposuction Candidates
Liposuction candidates, like tummy tuck candidates, should be in generally good health and at or near their target weight. Though liposuction is a fat reduction procedure, it won’t help you lose a substantial amount of weight. Instead, liposuction is designed to get rid of localized pockets of fat on the abdomen, love handles, thighs, knees, back, male chest, neck, and arms.
To reduce this unwanted fat, we use a small suction tube called a cannula. When your weight fluctuates naturally, fat cells merely get bigger or shrink. With liposuction, these fat cells are completely eliminated, providing long-lasting results.
This procedure cannot correct loose skin or muscles, so patients should have good muscle tone and minimal skin laxity. If your fat deposits are accompanied by stretched skin, liposuction will only accentuate this droopiness.
See real patient photos of liposuction results.
Combination Candidates
Liposuction can be a wonderful complement to tummy tuck surgery. In addition to surgically removing excess skin from the abdomen with the tummy tuck, we can use liposuction to sculpt the abdomen, hips, and other parts of the body as well. Combining the 2 procedures can provide you with more comprehensive results.
For patients who are not interested in surgery, we also offer WarmSculpting and TruSculpt iD, both non-invasive body sculpting option that requires no anesthesia and no downtime. If you want to learn more about your options, request a consultation online or call our office at (518) 328-3330.
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