Is Liposuction Safer Than A Tummy Tuck
Abdominoplasty (also called a “tummy tuck”) and liposuction are two different surgical procedures that aim to change the appearance of your midsection. Both procedures claim to make your stomach appear flatter, tighter, and smaller. They’re both performed by plastic surgeons, and are considered “cosmetic,” so they aren’t covered by health insurance.
In terms of the actual procedure, recovery time, and risks, there are some key differences between the two. Keep reading to learn more.
Who is a good candidate?
Liposuction and tummy tucks often appeal to people with similar cosmetic goals. But there are some important differences.
Lipo and Tummy Tuck Before and After
Liposuction
Liposuction may be a good fit if you’re looking to remove small fat deposits. These are commonly found on the hips, thighs, buttocks, or stomach area.
The procedure will remove fat deposits from the targeted area, reducing bulges and improving contour. However, liposuction isn’t recommended as a weight loss tool. You shouldn’t get liposuction if you’re obese.
Tummy tuck
In addition to removing excess fat from the abdomen, a tummy tuck also removes excess skin.
Pregnancy or significant shifts in your weight can stretch out the skin that surrounds your stomach. A tummy tuck can be used to restore the look of a flat and contoured midsection. If the rectus abdominus, or sit-up muscles, have stretched or separated due to pregnancy, this procedure might involve bringing them back together.
You may want to reconsider a tummy tuck if:
- your body mass index is over 30
- you’re considering getting pregnant in the future
- you’re actively trying to lose weight
- you have a chronic heart condition
What is the procedure like?
Liposuctions and tummy tucks are both performed by a plastic surgeon and require incisions and anesthesia.
Liposuction
You may be intravenously sedated for this procedure. In some cases, your surgeon will apply a local anesthetic to your midsection.
Once the area is numb, your surgeon will make small incisions around the site of your fat deposits. A thin tube (cannula) will be moved underneath your skin to loosen the fat cells. Your surgeon will use a medical vacuum to suction out the dislodged fat deposits.
It may take several sessions to achieve your desired result.
Tummy tuck
Your surgeon will put you to sleep via general anesthesia. After you’re sedated, they’ll make an incision at the bottom of the skin that covers your abdominal wall.
Once the muscles are exposed, your surgeon will sew the muscles in your abdominal wall together if they have become stretched out. They will then pull tight the skin over your abdomen, trim off excess skin, and close the incision with sutures.
A tummy tuck is done in one procedure. The entire surgery typically takes two to three hours.
What are the expected results?
Although liposuction and a tummy tuck both claim permanent results, significant weight gain after either procedure can alter this outcome.
Liposuction
People that have liposuction on their abdomen tend to see a flatter, more proportioned midsection once they have recovered from the procedure. These results are supposed to be permanent. But at least one study disagrees. According to this study, up to a year after the procedure, the fat deposits reappear, though they may show up elsewhere on your body. If you gain weight, fat will reaccumulate in your body, though not typically in the areas that were suctioned.
Tummy tuck
After a tummy tuck, the results are considered permanent. Your abdominal wall will be more stable and strong. The excess skin that has been removed won’t return unless fluctuation in weight or a subsequent pregnancy stretches out the area again.
What are the possible complications?
Although there are side effects associated with any surgery, each procedure poses different risks that you should be aware of.
Liposuction

With liposuction, your risk of complication increases if your surgeon is working on a large area. Performing multiple procedures during the same operation can also increase your risk.
Possible risks include:
- Numbness. You may feel numbness in the affected area. Although this is often temporary, it may become permanent.
- Contour irregularities. Sometimes the fat that’s removed creates a wavy or jagged impression on the top layer of your skin. This can make the skin appear less smooth.
- Fluid accumulation. Seromas — temporary pockets of fluid — may form under the skin. Your doctor will need to drain these.
Rare risks include:
- Infection. Infections may occur at the site of your liposuction incision.
- Internal organ puncture. If the cannula penetrates too deeply, it may puncture an organ.
- Fat embolism. An embolism occurs when a loosened piece of fat breaks away, becomes trapped in a blood vessel, and travels to the lungs or brain.
Tummy tuck
Tummy tucks have been shown to carry more complication risks than some other cosmetic procedures.
In one study, 8.5 percent of people who had a tummy tuck needed to return to the hospital because of some kind of complication. Wound complications and infections were among the most common reasons for readmission.
Other possible risks include:
- Changes in sensation. Repositioning your abdominal tissue may affect the superficial sensory nerves in this area, as well as in your upper thighs. You may feel numbness in these areas.
- Fluid accumulation. As with liposuction, temporary pockets of fluid may form under the skin. Your doctor will need to drain these.
- Tissue necrosis. In some cases, fatty tissue deep within the abdominal area may get damaged. Tissue that doesn’t heal or dies must be removed by your surgeon.
What’s the recovery process like?
The recovery process is also different for each procedure.
Liposuction vs Tummy Tuck Pictures
Liposuction
Your recovery process will depend on how many areas were operated on, and whether additional liposuction sessions are needed.
After the procedure, you may experience:
- swelling at the site of your fat removal
- draining and bleeding at the site of your incision
Your surgeon may recommend that you wear a compression garment to help reduce swelling and help your skin heal smoothly over your new shape.
Because liposuction is an outpatient procedure, regular activity can be resumed fairly quickly. You should be able to do anything you usually do within the next 48 hours.
However, you should hold off on heavy weight lifting and extensive cardio until you’ve gotten approval from your doctor.
Tummy tuck

When you wake up, your incision will be covered in surgical dressing, which will need to be changed several times. Your surgeon will also provide you with a compression garment or “belly binder.”
Within one day, you should be up and walking (with assistance) to prevent the formation of blood clots. You’ll likely be taking prescription pain relievers and antibiotics to help ease any discomfort and reduce your risk of infection.
Surgical drains may also be in place for up to two weeks.
It takes six weeks for the initial recovery phase of a tummy tuck to pass, and you’ll need several follow-up appointments with your doctor to check on how your incision is healing. During this time, you should avoid any position that involves abdominal extension or bending backwards, which may pull or place too much tension on the incision.
You should also hold off on any strenuous physical activity or exercise until you get your doctor’s approval.
The bottom line
Although liposuction and tummy tucks both aim to improve the appearance of your midsection, these procedures are markedly different in their promised result and the way they work.
Liposuction is a straightforward procedure that carries little risk or recovery downtime. A tummy tuck is considered a more serious operation. Your doctor or potential surgeon will be your best resource in determining which procedure may be right for you.
which is cheaper lipo or tummy tuck
The abdominal area can be a stubborn area of the body to achieve a flat, taut or smooth appearance. If you’ve been looking for a treatment that will get rid of the sagging pooch or flab around your stomach, you may have looked into liposuction or a tummy tuck. Although both treatments may address similar areas, there are important differences to consider when deciding on your treatment.
Trying to determine which option is best for you can be confusing and overwhelming. The information below will help get you started.
What is Liposuction?
Liposuction is a minimally-invasive surgical treatment that suctions excess fat away from the body permanently.
Achieving a flatter, tighter abdomen may not come to you despite regular exercise and a healthy diet. When it comes to stubborn deposits of belly fat, there are few treatments that can deliver results like liposuction. Though liposuction is not meant to be considered a weight-loss alternative, it is a great treatment for spot-reduction of exercise-resistant fat stores that typically develop around the stomach.
If the problem areas around your belly are primarily an issue of excess fat, then liposuction is typically the best route.
What is a Tummy Tuck?
A tummy tuck, or abdominoplasty, is a surgical procedure that removes excess, stretched or sagging skin from the abdomen to restore a flatter, and tighter abdominal area. A tummy tuck is also highly capable of repairing weakened or stretched abdominal muscles.
In many cases, when we’re talking about the stomach and abdominal area, there is also the issue of excess, sagging skin. Pregnancy, aging, and large amounts of weight loss can result in sagging, stretched “flaps” of skin around the stomach. In these cases, liposuction may not be the best treatment because the excess skin is better addressed through treatments such as a tummy tuck.
Tummy Tuck vs. Liposuction Houston, TX
Both a tummy tuck and liposuction can deliver great results for achieving a flatter, leaner abdomen. To answer the question of which treatment is right for you comes down to the issue of excess skin versus excess fat.
Belly Fat versus Excess Skin
The struggle to achieve a slimmer stomach is one of the most common issues and only tends to get more challenging as you get older. Fat distribution is highly individualized and is affected by age, gender, genetics, and lifestyle. For women, they may notice a pronounced change of excess fat deposits around the waist after menopause, which studies show is linked to the changing levels of estrogen in the body.
Hormone levels have an important influence on how your body stores fat.
Aging, genetics, and lifestyle also play a big role in skin elasticity. Skin elasticity is the ability of your skin to hold a taut shape and resist the effects of gravity. When skin becomes stretched due to weight gain, age, and pregnancy, sagging skin can develop. Additional dieting and weight loss cannot treat sagging skin and may actually make the appearance of sagging skin worse.
Tummy Tuck or Liposuction? Which treatment is right for me?
The best choice for you is based on a number of factors unique to your body and goals. At a glance, the key differences between a tummy tuck and liposuction are:
Benefits
Liposuction: Fat removal and reduction Tummy Tuck: Skin reduction and abdominal muscle repair.
Tummy Liposuction Cost
Cost:
Liposuction: Between $4,000 to $8,000 ~ average costs $6,000. (Learn more about liposuction pricing.)Tummy Tuck: Between$6,000 to $$10,000 ~average cost $8,000.
Liposuction: 2 days off work and light physical activity, return to high impact exercise after 2 – 3 weeks. Tummy Tuck: 2 – 3 weeks off work and light physical activity, returning to high impact exercise after 2 – 3 months.
Ideal Candidates for Liposuction
You may benefit from liposuction treatment if you:
Ideal Candidates for Tummy Tuck
You may be better served by a tummy tuck if you:
In general, patients under the age of 40 are better-suited for liposuction because they tend to have better skin elasticity. Patients over the age of 45 may benefit from a tummy tuck’s ability to tighten weakened or separated abdominal muscles. Weakened abdominal muscles can occur due to age or as a result of multiple pregnancies.
Your Consultation
The best way to be certain of which treatment will achieve your desired result is with a consultation. Speaking in person with a fat reduction and body sculpting specialist is the best way to get an accurate assessment. An experienced cosmetic surgeon will always recommend the treatment that will best serve the patient’s realistic goals and their unique anatomy.
Your consultation is a private personalized meeting where you can discuss your goals and concerns in detail.
After a physical examination and assessment of your medical history, you will receive a tailored treatment plan that is created to fit your body and goals. In some cases, our patients may discover they may even qualify for non-surgical options such as CoolSculpting.
Only a consultation with an experienced surgeon can determine which options are best for an individual.
Liposuction with Tummy Tuck Cost
Liposuction Cost is an important factor when considering liposuction surgery. However, the quality of liposuction is more important than the liposuction cost. If the ultimate goal of liposuction is to have a happy patient, then the surgeon’s expertise and experience are probably more important than finding the cheapest liposuction surgeon. Liposuction prices are important, but it is not the most important factor to considering lipo surgery. Be careful not to put your body on the “Discount Rack”.
Lowest Liposuction Price Can Be Most Expensive
Choosing a liposuction surgeon based on the lowest price might ultimately be the most expensive choice, If the initial cosmetic results are so bad that another surgeon must be paid to repair the work of the first liposuction surgeon. Among the most common undesirable outcomes of liposuction are:
How to Use Liposuction Cost Table (Below)
The total cost for lipo surgery is a global fee that includes the sum of the non-surgical fee plus one or more surgical fees.
The non-surgical fees include the cost of the operating room, nursing staff, pre-operative laboratory tests, post-operative garments and supplies. The surgical fees represent the prices for lipo surgery of each individual area.
For example, the total cost for liposuction of the hips, outer thighs and buttocks might be the sum of the surgical fees for hips ($3,400), outer thighs ($3,000), and buttocks ($2,000), plus non-surgical fee ($1,800), which equals $9,400. However, usually these fees are bundled so you could be looking at a lower cost.
The following table is merely a rough estimate of the possible liposuction prices.
Factors That Determine Can Liposuction Cost
Factors that determine cost of liposuction include:
Expected Time and Effort The expected time and effort that is required to accomplish a liposuction surgery is the most important factor in determining the cost of liposuction. Factors that typically affect the surgeon’s time and effort include:
Bundling areas and performing liposuction on 2-3 areas during one surgery saves money in non-surgical fees. Although the cost of liposuction of the abdomen alone is less than the cost of doing liposuction on both the abdomen as well as the inner thighs and knees, total dollars spent will be higher if the two areas are done during separate surgeries.
Similarly, the cost for abdominal liposuction on a patient who weighs 80 kilograms (176 pounds) might be more than the cost for liposuction of the abdomen of a patient who has never weighed more than 60 kilograms (132 pounds). Liposuction is more difficult and requires more time if the patient has previously gained and then lost a significant amount of weight. In any area previously treated with liposuction or other non-invasive technology like Coolsculpt, the fat often contains scar tissue which makes liposuction in the same area more difficult.
Other Variables Affecting Liposuction Price Other variables affecting price of liposuction include the following:
An expert liposuction surgeon who has done thousands of liposuction procedures, who consistently achieves outstanding results, and who is in great demand, will often charge more than a less experienced surgeon. Surgeons who have had unhappy patients and who do not have a good reputation might also lower liposuction prices in order to attract new patients. In geographic areas where rents and labor costs are high, one can expect higher prices for liposuction. Dr. Jeffrey Klein and Dr. Norma Kassardjian are two of the most experienced liposuction surgeons in the world. Both have excellent reputations, have never had a serious complication and maintain the highest standard of care.
Global Liposuction Costs Dr. Klein and Dr. Kassardjian quote a single global liposuction cost that includes almost every possible surgery-related expense in one lump sum. Typically, a global liposuction price is the sum of the surgical fees, plus the non-surgical fee. A global liposuction cost is commonly used when the liposuction surgery is done in the surgeon’s office or surgery center. There are no anesthesiologist fees or operating room fees with KleinLipo performed completely with local anesthesia in our in-office operating rooms. Compression garments are included.
When comparing costs to other surgeons, be certain to determine if the quote is for a global fee or merely the surgical fee. An office employee who answers the telephone might only give information about the surgeon’s fee and not mention other important items such as the anesthesiologist’s fee, and operating room fee.
Itemized Liposuction Prices Including Surgical Fees Some surgeons prefer to give prospective patients an itemized list of all the anticipated costs of liposuction. These separate costs might include the surgical fee (money paid to the surgeon for his services), anesthesiologist’s fee, operating room fee, pre-operative laboratory test fees, charges for post-operative elastic compression garments, and possibly prices for antibiotics and other recommended drugs.
Sometimes itemized prices are used when the surgeon cannot control all of the related expenses, such as when the lipo surgery is to be done in a hospital operating room with a hospital anesthesiologist. Additionally, surgeons who frequently perform a number of unrelated surgical procedures at the same time as the liposuction use itemized lipo prices.
Telephone Estimates are not Precise It is almost impossible to provide an accurate estimate of liposuction price unless the surgeon has had the opportunity to examine the patient. One can expect to be given a range of liposuction prices or at least the smallest fee charged for a specific area.
Dr. Klein always quotes an all-inclusive global price. For example, the receptionists usually state that “For most areas, the minimal price is $4800 and may be as much as $8000 for a very large abdomen. Additional areas usually start at $2000. Dr. Kassardjian typically quotes about $1000 less”.
Written Estimate A written estimate of total cost of the liposuction surgery is essential. Beware of any surgeon who is not completely candid, open and honest about all of the associated fees.
Financing and Loans Financing and loans for cosmetic surgery are available through private finance companies. Often, one can also pay for liposuction surgery using a credit card. Liposuction is generally regarded as a luxury and thus going into debt to have liposuction requires careful consideration.
What is the difference between tummy tuck and mini tummy tuck
For many patients considering abdominoplasty, a common question I hear is “Do I need a full tummy tuck, or can I get away with a mini tummy tuck?”
Although the major appeal of a mini tummy tuck is often the less obvious scarring and minimal down time, in my experience, the vast majority of my tummy tuck patients benefit more from a traditional abdominoplasty with a hip-to-hip incision to achieve the #MoncrieffMagic transformation they are looking for. So, what is the difference between a mini tummy tuck and a full tummy tuck?
Full Tummy Tuck
A full tummy tuck or abdominoplasty involves a traditional “hip to hip” incision along the bikini line in order to remove excess skin and perform internal muscle repair across the entire abdominal area, both above and below the belly button.
Mini Tummy Tuck
A mini tummy tuck involves a much smaller incision along the bikini line, usually up to about 20cm in length. While a mini abdominoplasty tightens and flattens the skin below the belly button, the smaller incision does not allow me to address loose skin or separated muscles in the middle or upper abdomen.
As demonstrated in the diagram below, much more of the stomach can be addressed with the full tummy tuck incision as opposed to the mini.
Who is an ideal candidate for a mini tummy tuck?
A mini tummy tuck may be a good option if your excess skin is located below the navel only, the navel does not require reshaping or repositioning, and there is little to no muscle separation requiring repair. Mini tummy tuck patients are often hoping to address a very small tummy “pooch” or revise a previous caesarean scar. The ideal mini tummy tuck patient has good upper abdominal skin and muscle tone, is slender, fit and at their ideal body weight.
What does a “mini” tummy tuck look like?
What are the benefits of a full tummy tuck?
Following mass weight loss or multiple pregnancies, a full tummy tuck is generally the most suitable option. A full tummy tuck allows access to the entire abdomen to remove excess skin, repair muscle separation and perform extensive liposuction to sculpt the waist, hips, flanks and mons area. For this reason, a full tummy tuck produces a much more dramatic result with the “WOW” factor my patients are looking for.
What does a “full” or traditional tummy tuck look like?
Visit our full tummy tuck before and after gallery for more real patients and their real surgical results.
Mini vs. Full Tummy Tuck Cost?
A full tummy tuck for a privately insured patient who meets the required Medicare criteria is from $18,800. For an uninsured patient, or for “cosmetic” reasons, the cost is $26,200. This is inclusive of your surgeon’s fee, anesthetist fee, hospital stay, garments, follow-up care and LED therapy for scar minimization.
As candidates for a mini tummy tuck generally haven’t experienced a significant weight loss of 5 BMI points, they are usually ineligible for any rebate. This means your health fund is unable to “kick in” and cover the cost of your hospital stay and theatre fees. A quote for a mini tummy tuck is provided on a case-to-case basis, depending on your goals and the length of hospital stay required.
How do I know which procedure is right for me?
To determine whether a mini or a full tummy tuck would be the best procedure to meet your aesthetic goals, it is best to book a consultation. During your consultation we will be able to determine the degree of muscle separation and excess that needs to be addressed through your abdominoplasty surgery.