For those that have read the Basics or have had a tummy tuck with what they may consider "So-So" results, questions of additional options have arisen. For patients following Gastric Bypass Surgery or large weight loss, this option is quite reasonable. Patients like these frequently have fat and skin excesses that don't stop on the front of the tummy. They trail toward the sides or even all the way around the body. They may also involve the thighs with bunching of tissue in the groin or along the "front" of the thighs. Extended abdominoplasty can address these additional excesses by taking the operation toward the thighs, the sides and into part of the buttocks. This basically takes the operation one step closer to a full lower body lift, but with a lower risk of wound healing problems.
Extended abdominoplasty allows for partial correction of the front of the thighs that is particularly beneficial in the gastric bypass patient. The additional removal of some of the thigh skin (in the front) pulls the thigh into the closure. The patient gets a partial thigh lift as part of this tummy tuck. This does not replace inner thigh lift, but can help mitigate excess tissue in the front of the thigh.
These extensions of the tummy tuck concept allow for correction over and above that usually seen with more standard abdominoplasties. You can't get all you might want done in one operation, but your operation may very well get you farther than you had thought possible.
