BEFORE PHOTOGRAPH: This is a frontal view of a 21 year old woman with a BMI of 25.5 before she underwent lipoabdominoplasty, liposuction of the anterior flanks and hernia repair.

How a woman's skin is going to respond to the stretching effects of pregnancy is both variable and unpredictable.  In this relatively young woman's case, her skin developed a number of stretch marks and didn't shrink down to her new body contour after pregnancy.

Liposuction alone in such an individual would probably result in an even less optimal abdominal appearance.  The only way to treat a situation such as this is to remove the extra skin, which was done in her case.

AFTER PHOTOGRAPH: This a frontal view of a 21 year old woman who had lipoabdominoplasty, liposuction of the anterior flanks and hernia repair.

A lipoabdominoplasty treats the front of the abdomen and combines liposuction and abdominoplasty in doing so.  The remainder of the mid-body or "trunk" can be treated with liposuction as well if there are objectionable fat deposits elsewhere.

In this woman's case, the front portion of the "sides" of her body were treated with liposuction.  This accentuated her waist.  I try to keep the scar from the lipoabdominoplasty low on the abdomen and as short as possible- usually less than 12 inches long.

BEFORE PHOTOGRAPH: This is a left frontal oblique view of a 21 year old woman with a BMI of 25.5 who underwent lipoabdominoplasty, liposuction of the anterior flanks and hernia repair.

This woman's abdomen protrudes for two reasons:  first, her abdominal muscuar wall was stretched by her pregnancy just as her skin was stretched; second, she has a hernia.  Neither can be corrected with anything other than surgery.

AFTER PHOTOGRAPH: This is a left frontal oblique view of a 21 year old woman with a BMI of 25.5 who underwent lipoabdominoplasty, liposuction of the anterior flanks and hernia repair.

The combination of hernia repair and abdominoplasty results in a more pleasing shape and appearance of her umbilicus or "belly button" after surgery.  The tightening of the abdominal wall muscles that is a component of the lipoabdominoplasty results in a flatter, more attractive abdominal contour.

Removal of the excess skin resulted in removal of a large portion of her stretch marks.  Those that remain are less noticeable because her skin is now taught instead of loose.

The scar from the lipoabdominoplasty is low and can easily be concealed in several swimsuit choices.

BEFORE PHOTOGRAPH: This is a left profile view of a 21 year old woman with a BMI of 25.5 before she underwent lipoabdominoplasty, liposuction of the anterior flanks and hernia repair.

AFTER PHOTOGRAPH: This is a left profile view of a 21 year old woman with a BMI of 25.5 who underwent lipoabdominoplasty, liposuction of the anterior flanks and hernia repair.

The improvement in the contour of her abdomen is marked.  I collaborated with Scott Belsley, MD, FACS, a general surgeon, in this case.  He used a biological mesh to repair the hernia.  This mesh incorporatees into the body's own tissues after surgery.

BEFORE PHOTOGRAPH: This is a posterior truncal view of a 21 year old woman with a BMI of 25.5 who underwent lipoabdominoplasty, liposuction of the anterior flanks and hernia repair.

Many patients elect to have liposuction of their backs at the same time as having lipoabdominoplasy.  This further accentuates a woman's waist when viewed from the back and serves to maximally address upper buttock fat or "love handles."

This woman had moderately noticeable upper buttock fatty deposits or "love handles" prior to surgery, but did not have liposuction of the back.

AFTER PHOTOGRAPH: This is a posterior truncal view of a 21 year old woman with a BMI of 25.5 who underwent lipoabdominoplasty, liposuction of the anterior flanks and hernia repair.

 The improvement in the appearance of her upper buttock fatty deposits or "love handles" was achieved by performing the lipoabdominoplasty and liposuction of the anterior flanks only.  Further improvment could be achieved by performing targeted liposuction of the back, a procedure which can be done at the same time as the lipoabdominoplasty or any time afterwards.