How much for a tummy tuck?

[Anonymous]

And know any good docs in DC or closeby burbs?
I don't really need lipo. Just surgery to pull my damn ab muscles back together (separated during pregnancy) and tighten the area. Dont have much flabby extra skin or fat. It's just distended cuz the muscles aren't tight enough to hold in my guts, literally.
AM OVER IT. I work out all the time and otherwise am v. happy w/my appearance. It just irks me.

[Anonymous]

I had one done, and paid about $17k. I am (and was) normal weight, but after 2 pregnancies in my mid 30s, my tummy looked like a deflated balloon, all stretch marked to boot. Even under clothes, it was like a sharpei's extra skin.

I bet you could get one for less $$ these days. I had mine in 2006. My only regret is that I didn't get more work done while I was under general anesthesia already. It would have been another $12k to get my saggy baggy boobs lifted (without a bra, my deflated boobs are soooo saggy). I had a great experience and am so happy I had it done.

There is a site with great information about plastic surgery, and users posted before and after photos. just google Make Me Heal.

[Anonymous]

My friend had one - she looks great but she said it hurt like nothing else in her lifetime. Also, when I say she looks great, I still wonder if she could have done the same thing with exercise. She did it at the same time as her second c-section, so there's no way to tell if exercise could have taken off the weight.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My friend had one - she looks great but she said it hurt like nothing else in her lifetime. Also, when I say she looks great, I still wonder if she could have done the same thing with exercise. She did it at the same time as her second c-section, so there's no way to tell if exercise could have taken off the weight.

When you say she did it at the same time as a c-section; how does that work? Does the OB leave and the plastic surgeon come in? I thought most doctors wouldn't touch you post-partum? Thanks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I had one done, and paid about $17k. I am (and was) normal weight, but after 2 pregnancies in my mid 30s, my tummy looked like a deflated balloon, all stretch marked to boot. Even under clothes, it was like a sharpei's extra skin.

I bet you could get one for less $$ these days. I had mine in 2006. My only regret is that I didn't get more work done while I was under general anesthesia already. It would have been another $12k to get my saggy baggy boobs lifted (without a bra, my deflated boobs are soooo saggy). I had a great experience and am so happy I had it done.

There is a site with great information about plastic surgery, and users posted before and after photos. just google Make Me Heal.

Holy crap! Well, this is now ruled out for me. I think I'll have to make do with my sag!

[Anonymous]

I'm the previous poster with the $17k tummy tuck. Yes, it was very expensive, but I should have noted that I paid extra to have the procedure done in a hospital and to stay the night in the hospital (Sibley has a special deluxe wing for plastic surgery). I also have a latex allergy and so the operating room had to be equipped a certain way. Mine was probably on the very high end of the price continuum, but I have not heard of tummy tucks much less than 10k.

As for the earlier PP who said a friend "had plastic surgey at the same time as a C-section" sounds misled or uninformed...I really don't think that is possible at all. PP, not trying to say you or your friend were fibbing, but perhaps there was a misunderstanding? The plastic surgeons I interviewed (3 of them) required:
-- that you be 1 year (at least) in your ideal weight +/- 10%
-- that you be completely free of a whole range of meds, including over the counter multi-vitamins, for a week or 2 before the procedure
-- the tummy tuck procedure is an abdominoplasty, literally, removing excess skin to fit the natural contour of the waist. As all women who have delivered biological children may recall, the abdominal area is distended for several days or more after delivery, so the idea that excess skin could be removed at the same time as delivery (even by c-section) is basically impossible (because the skin wouldn't be "excess" until the belly contracts to its original size).
-- the results of an abdominoplasty cannot be achieved through diet and exercise because the surgery addresses the excess skin, whereas diet and exercise address excess fat or insufficient muscle tone

[Anonymous]

4 years ago I was quoted about $7K for a "mini-tuck" (not as bad as a full on tuck but does include some lipo) from a very reputable doc in Chevy CHase recommended by my very picky internist. The surgery would have been at Sibley; I would have been in for 5 days or a week. I ended up not doing it because I was scared of the recovery, but you can't really depend on what someone else had to pay. Only a doc can look at your situation and see how much work you really need.

[Anonymous]

21:29 again. PP makes a good point, I should have specified that I had a full tummy tuck (removal and repositioning of the belly button), which is much more extensive and invasive (and expensive) than a mini tummy tuck (whick is only about skin removal, occasionally some lipo, but the belly button is not touched). Also, my $17k includes the surgeon's fees, anesthesiologist fees, OR fees, and hospital inpatient fees. PP, I would guess the $7k you mention only covers the surgeon's fees, though again, your point is well taken about the range of prices out there.