How Many Inches Will Be Taken Off From A Tummy Tuck and Thigh Liposuction?

Q: Dr. Eppley, I’m having surgery in a few weeks consisting of a full tummy tuck and liposuction of the, flanks and outer thighs. How much fat did you estimate in inches that can be removed from each of these areas? Particularly with my outer thighs, I was hoping that whatever amount of fat was removed would be visibly noticeable to the eye.

A: While I don’t have the advantage of knowing what your body/thighs look like, there would be little purpose in having the procedure if the change was not noticeable. I never like to use inches as a circumferential measurement outcome for any liposuction-treated area or a tummy tuck because the visible change can be substantial but the circumferential measurement change can be less impressive. This, of course, highly depends on the body type and the size of the original problem. But you have to remember that only one section of the thigh (outer) is being treated not the circumferential thigh so that measurement will never be impressive as the outer profile or silhouette view. For a tummy tuck, only the front half of the body is being treated so the amount of ‘inches’ reduction will depend on the existing size of the frontal abdominal fullness and/or overhang.

While in many patients, inches do come off from a tummy tuck, that can be avery disappointing assessment criteria when looking at outer thigh liposuction…that is rarely an inchess off procedure.

Dr. Barry Eppley

Indianapolis,Indiana