Where does the looseness start?

The quickest way to tell whether a mini or a full tummy tuck is more likely to suit you is to notice where the problem begins. If the slack skin and the pooch sit entirely below the belly button, with good tone above it, a mini may be enough. If the looseness carries on above the navel, or the muscles have parted down the middle, the full operation is usually the answer. Dr. Chang Soo Kim makes the final call at a consultation at Bellava in Bedford Hills — about 16 minutes without traffic from South Salem and 13 from Cross River, both along Route 35.

Mini tummy tuck

The incision is shorter, low on the abdomen where a C-section scar would sit.
The belly button stays where it is, so there is no scar around it.
The muscle repair is limited to the lower abdomen.
Liposuction often does more of the shaping, because less skin is taken away.
The time involved is less: a shorter operation, and Bellava’s guidance is that most patients are back at work and light activity within one to two weeks, leaving strenuous exercise for four to six.
It suits someone close to their goal weight with a modest amount of loose skin or fat low on the stomach.

Full tummy tuck

The incision runs from hip to hip, low enough to stay hidden beneath the bikini line.
The belly button is given a new opening in the tightened skin.
The muscle repair covers the whole abdominal wall, closing the separation known as diastasis recti.
More skin comes away, and with it any stretch marks below the navel.
Recovery is longer: desk work after two to three weeks, exercise at about six, and the final contour once the swelling clears over three to six months.
It suits substantial skin laxity, marked muscle separation, and bodies that have been through several pregnancies.

When neither fits

If skin hangs around your sides after a large weight loss, the extended tummy tuck lengthens the incision to treat the flanks and outer thighs too. And if your skin is firm and the issue is fat alone, non-surgical laser lipo may be the better first step.

The surgeon

More than 500 tummy tucks lie behind Dr. Kim’s recommendation. He is certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery, took his medical degree at the Yale School of Medicine and trained in plastic surgery at Yale–New Haven Hospital. Both versions are outpatient operations in Bellava’s Joint Commission–accredited suite, so you are back home in Lewisboro the same day. Meet Dr. Kim.

Lewisboro patients ask

Can a mini tummy tuck fix separated muscles? Only below the navel. Separation that runs higher up needs the full operation.

What are the risks of a mini tummy tuck? As with any surgery they include infection, a collection of fluid called a seroma, scarring or slow healing, and minor asymmetry. They are rare, and Dr. Kim goes through each with you.

How do I begin? Use the Request a Consultation button, or call or text, and Bellava’s patient coordinator rings you back to arrange it. The tummy tuck and mini tummy tuck pages and Dr. Kim’s results are worth reading first.

Tummy Tuck for Lewisboro, NY