Difference Between Abdominoplasty and Liposuction

Abdominoplasty Vs Liposuction

Because of the people’s insatiable want to look more beautiful, cosmetic surgery came into place. Over the last two decades, two very effective methods have seen its popularity surge yet both are still somewhat misunderstood. These surgeries are abdominoplasty and liposuction.

A liposuction is very different from a tummy tuck (the more colloquial term for abdominoplasty) because it is done to remove excess fat deposits. In the actual liposuction procedure, certain incisions are made in the patient’s body that serve as the entry points for the cannulas. These devices serve as vacuums that literally suck out the fat from your abdomen. More often than not, this cosmetic surgery procedure is accompanied with local anesthetics.

Abdominoplasty repairs any damaged muscle that makes the stomach bulge. The procedure starts off with the surgeon making a huge horizontal slice that opens up the abdominal area. This makes it a riskier procedure since the patient will have a large scar following the procedure. All the tissues and stomach muscles that are either torn or weak are then repaired. This repair also includes the actual removal of extra skin. Because of the extra invasive nature of this procedure, tummy tucks are usually done under generalized anesthesia.

Although both procedures can be performed on an OPD (out patient) basis, doctors would still recommend abdominoplasty patients to stay for at least a day being confined in the hospital.

Because there are fewer cuts made in liposuction, it takes less time for the incision to heal. Most patients who finish the procedure can resume normal functioning within a week. For abdominoplasty, it takes more time ‘“ almost a full month before full recovery is met. Being a major surgery, patients who finished a tummy tuck are also advised to take at least one full week of bed rest. In terms of cost, it is obvious that liposuction is far cheaper than the other.

Although both liposuction and abdominoplasty are two kinds of plastic surgery enhancements done for reshaping one’s abdomen to make it look a lot slimmer and smoother, the two are still very much different in the following aspects:

1. Liposuction is a cheaper cosmetic surgery than abdominoplasty.

2. Liposuction often requires local anesthetics while abdominoplasty requires general anesthesia.

3. Liposuction is a simpler procedure that heals a lot faster than abdominoplasty.

4. Liposuction sucks out the fats from your abdomen while abdominoplasty takes away the extra skin and repairs damaged tissues.