The Combination of Liposuction and Tummy Tuck (abdominoplasty): What Is Safe to Perform?
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Dr. Kenneth Benjamin Hughes is a Harvard-trained, board-certified plastic surgeon practicing in Los Angeles, CA. Dr. Kenneth Hughes has built a fully accredited, state-of-the-art surgery center in which he performs a wide range of cosmetic and reconstructive plastic surgeries. Dr. Kenneth Hughes performs tummy tuck, Brazilian... more
Dr. Kenneth Benjamin Hughes is a board-certified plastic surgeon who performs aesthetic plastic surgery in his surgery center in Los Angeles. Dr. Hughes frequently performs tummy tuck surgery. Dr. Hughes also frequently performs liposuction. The combination of the tummy tuck and liposuction procedures can be performed safely as outlined below. The tummy tuck involves the removal of skin and fat from the pubic area to the level of the belly button. With belly button relocation along with abdominal wall tightening (rectus and oblique fascial plication). Liposuction involves fat removal through a cannula and can be performed at the same time under certain conditions.
Liposuction can be safely performed along the sides, flanks, and the lower back at the time of a tummy tuck. The only area that should be avoided from a liposuction perspective while performing a tummy tuck is the area of the tummy tuck flap ( in other words, the area above the incision all the way up to the xiphoid process of the chest). If liposuction is performed on this area, the remaining blood supply may become less robust and result in the flap not having enough blood supply. This decreased blood supply can result in skin and tissue necrosis (death of tissue) and possibly a large open wound.
In some cases, this open wound cannot be remedied and may require months to heal. Even after the healing process, you may not be able to reconstruct it effectively without a great deal of scar and a less favorable cosmetic appearance. This is one situation in which it is far better to wait for liposuction on the abdominal flap, than to have to deal with the repercussions of flap necrosis.
For more information and before and after pictures please visit Dr. Kenneth Benjamin Hughes at his websites below: