Tummy Tuck Gallery Plastic Surgery in Austin | Patient 10

Patient Details

This patient had a previous gastric bypass procedure for weight loss and told me it didn’t work as well as she would have liked. She lost 100 pounds but then gained forty back. Her main complaint was the panniculus along the lower part of her abdomen. This refers to the tissue that hangs along the lower part of her abdomen.

I performed a liposuction of her trunk and a panniculectomy procedure. This is a type of abdominoplasty whereby I remove the tissue excess along the lower part of the abdomen only. There is no surgery above her belly button and there is no fascial tightening as is performed in a full abdominoplasty.

This patient is quite happy with her results and it has changed her life for the better.

Lessons to learn:

1. She is overweight. This puts her at risk for surgery complications. By performing a panniculectomy and liposuction only, I minimized the amount of surgery and the anesthesia thereby reducing her risk for complications.
2. I would not perform a full tuck in her case because she is too heavy for this procedure.
3. Willie Sutton robbed banks because that is where the money is. In her case, it was the panniculous along the lower abdomen.
4. The combination of liposuction and panniculectomy made for some really nice improvements in her figure.
5. As always, I encourage weight loss after surgery. She had no lost any weight. But, she has not gained any weight. She probably would be ideal at 175 pounds for her body habitus. She is 220 pounds in these photos. She is going to work on losing the weight.
6. Having an apron of tissue that hangs from your lower abdomen crimps your life tremendously. Most importantly, many people use this as an excuse not to work out (which isn’t that unreasonable). Removing it removes this barrier to activities.
7. She feels better about her body. She actually feels sexy. There is nothing wrong with that.