How Far Apart Should My Tummy Tuck And Facial Surgeries Be?

Q: Dr. Eppley,  It is getting closer to my surgery date in June. I have a few questions.  If I were to get abdominoplasty prior to getting my facial surgeries, (paranasal, premaxillary, chin tuck up and labiomental implant).  How long would I have to wait after I got my abdominoplasty before I could get my facial surgeries.  I went back to my old tummy tuck doctor from ten years ago and had him have a close look.  He said he wouldn’t tighten the muscle, he would only remove skin during a mini tuck.  I thought about trying to travel all the way to you and back with the seriousness, healing, and limitations of a tummy tuck and I am a little concerned about the travel distance. Would I have to wait a long time in between the two surgeries?

A:  I would agree with your old doctor, only skin should be removed. That is all you can do which is common after someone has had a tummy tuck previously. That is a much different postoperative experience than the first time because it is much more limited. There is a reason it is called a mini- because it is so much smaller in magnitude. The incision makes you think it is the same but it is far different.

But if you were going to space multiple facial implants and a mini-tummy tuck apart it is just an issue of recovery/travel between the two. I wouldn’t think more than a few weeks would be necessary either way.

When you have good lips like you do to start with (adequate vermilion) implants work really well. I am not sure how to answer how that would look without the submental tuck-up because I don’t think one really affects the other that much. I would say it would not look strange.

Dr. Barry Eppley

Indianapolis, Indiana