Extended Tummy Tuck vs Standard: The Complete Guide to Addressing Love Handles and Back Fat
When considering body contouring surgery, understanding the difference between an extended tummy tuck and a standard procedure can be crucial for achieving your aesthetic goals. Simply put, a tummy tuck alone will not address your love handles. While this procedure is great for targeting the lower abdominal region, it will not affect other areas around the waistline, like your love handles.
Understanding Standard Tummy Tuck Limitations
A tummy tuck is a procedure designed to tighten loose or separated abdominal muscles and remove excess fat and skin in the lower abdominal area in order to give you a tighter, more contoured appearance. However, Love handles refer to fat on the sides of the waist and lower back, also known as the flanks or hips. Because a tummy tuck is focused on the anterior (front) abdominal wall, it doesn’t reach the sides of the body.
This allows the surgeon to remove stubborn fat and extra skin from the front of the abdomen and can create a slimmer waistline overall, but the love handles are not specifically treated during a tummy tuck.
Extended Tummy Tuck: Comprehensive Body Contouring
The main difference is that an extended tummy tuck addresses the flanks, also commonly known as “love handles”, between the waist and hip. An extended tummy tuck is very similar to a regular tummy tuck (abdominoplasty), but instead of just reducing excess skin and fat on the stomach, it also targets the flank area, or “love handles”, between the waist and hips.
Circumferential abdominoplasty (high lateral tension abdominoplasty) or extended tummy tuck: This surgery includes the front (abdomen) and back area (love handles and hips). Circumferential abdominoplasty (high lateral tension abdominoplasty) or extended tummy tuck: This surgery includes the front (abdomen) and back area (love handles and hips).
Who Benefits from Extended Procedures?
An extended tummy tuck is generally for people who have lost a lot of weight and have a lot of excess skin. An extended tummy tuck is generally for people who have lost a lot of weight and have a lot of excess skin. An extended tummy tuck uses a longer incision than a standard tummy tuck, extending beyond the hip bones and often toward the lower back, to remove a larger amount of excess skin and fat. It’s particularly effective for individuals with excess skin and fat deposits that pool around the hips.
However, if you have excess bulging in your back and sides – commonly known as “love handles” – an extended tummy tuck may be the better choice. Many women experience excess skin and fat in this area after pregnancy, making the extended procedure a great option for many new moms.
Combining Procedures for Optimal Results
Adding lipo to your tummy tuck procedure allows your surgeon to address weak muscles, excess skin and fat in your abdomen while also trimming down your love handles, giving you the waistline and body contours you have worked for. Combining liposuction with abdominoplasty is a common strategy for full-body contouring. While the tummy tuck addresses muscle and skin issues in the front, liposuction sculpts the sides and rear.
Cost and Recovery Considerations
Because of the additional procedure, an extended tummy tuck is often more expensive, is a longer procedure, and may have a longer recovery time. Because an extended tummy tuck involves more than a traditional tummy tuck, the cost will likely be higher. The price range for a tummy tuck generally falls between $4,000 and $18,000. According to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, the average cost of a tummy tuck (not extended) in 2019 was $8,174.
Choosing the Right Surgeon
When considering either procedure, selecting a board-certified plastic surgeon is crucial. For patients in Connecticut seeking expert care, Dr. CS Kim, a top CT plastic surgeon, can help you achieve your beauty goals. Drawing from his extensive surgical experience and academic training, Dr. Chang Soo Kim MD provides his patients with comprehensive cosmetic and reconstructive surgery. He also dedicates himself to each patient, providing personalized, uncompromised care.
For those specifically looking for Tummy Tuck Weston services, Dr. Kim’s cosmetic surgery techniques enhance one’s natural beauty without appearing artificial or overdone. Committed to reconstructive surgery with best possible functional and cosmetic results, he is capable of tailoring surgery to a patient’s specific needs and expectations.
Making the Right Choice
A tummy tuck is a powerful procedure, but it can’t do it all. If you want to eliminate love handles and achieve a tight, defined waistline, liposuction is essential. And when you combine both techniques, the results can be transformative.
The decision between a standard and extended tummy tuck ultimately depends on your specific body contouring needs. For patients whose fat has accumulated in the flanks and the abdominal region, an extended abdominoplasty, or tummy tuck, may be the best option. Unlike conventional tummy tuck surgery, extended abdominoplasty addresses the entire abdominal region, to the flanks, all the way around to the sides of the lower back.
Before making your decision, consult with a qualified plastic surgeon who can evaluate your individual case and recommend the most appropriate approach for achieving your desired results. Remember, the goal is not just a flatter stomach, but a comprehensive body contouring solution that addresses all your concerns.