Tummy Tuck vs Lipo

It is not a contest really.

SmartLipo can do a great job decreasing fat. The laser aspect of SmartLipo can help the skin tighten (I do not believe external lasers to reduce fat work much or at all, despite their advertisements). It can also do an excellent job on the upper and lower abdomen and the love handles (flanks), however, it will not get rid of a roll. It has the wonderful advantage of being done in the office and the vast majority of the time it is done with local anesthesia, so you can drive yourself. No fasting is desired so please eat beforehand. You really can go back to work the next day and start working out in only 5 days!!!

A TT (Tummy Tuck) allows me to not only remove skin and significantly tighten the abdomen, but I can also tighten the underlying abdominal muscles (note: I am not cutting the muscles, as I frequently get asked). Most of the time, I will also do ultrasonic liposuction to the flanks.
This is the only way to really remove an abdominal roll or significant amounts of loose skin.
However, unlike SmartLipo, this is done in the outpatient operating room, under general anesthesia. You go home the same day but most people will need 10 days or before they can go back to work. You can resume mild exercise around 2 weeks but no sit ups for 4-6 weeks. The changes are more dramatic but the cost is higher and the downtime is longer than SmartLipo.

Some patients will elect to do SmartLipo because even though a TT is the better choice for maximum benefit, the timing is not correct and SmartLipo can give them some definite benefit now.

Kindly,

Dr. David Berman