Tummy tuck before and after photos

Before and after photographs help explain what abdominoplasty does. They are also easy to over-read. This page explains how to interpret them, and what to look for when you view photographs at consultation.

Me Clinic's photographs are shown and discussed during consultation, where your surgeon can select cases relevant to your anatomy and explain what is and is not comparable to your situation.

The standards these photos must meet

Before and after images used by registered health practitioners in Australia are governed by the Medical Board of Australia's Guidelines for advertising regulated health services.

• Images must be genuine - real patients, real results.
• Photographs on this website have been retouched only to protect patient privacy, never to enhance or alter the results of the surgery.
• Images must carry a clear and prominent disclaimer that results may vary between individuals.
• Patients must consent to the use of their images.

Results may vary between individuals. A photograph records one person's outcome. It is not a prediction of yours.

How to read an abdominoplasty photo

• Consistent conditions. Same lighting, camera angle, distance and posture in both frames. Posture matters more here than for most procedures - a change in how someone stands alters the abdominal profile considerably.
• How much time has passed. Abdominoplasty swelling takes months to settle, and the scar continues to mature for 12 to 18 months. A photograph at six weeks, six months and eighteen months shows three different things - particularly for the scar.
• Which operation was performed. A full abdominoplasty, a mini abdominoplasty and a fleur-de-lis abdominoplasty produce different scars and different degrees of change. A photograph is only relevant if it shows the operation being considered for you.
• Whether muscle repair was included. Where abdominal muscle separation (rectus diastasis) was repaired, part of the change in profile comes from that repair rather than skin removal.
• Whether liposuction was combined. Where liposuction was performed at the same time, the visible result is not attributable to the abdominoplasty alone.
• The starting point. Look for a patient whose starting anatomy, skin quality and body type resemble yours - not the most dramatic case.

Look at the scar, not only the contour

Abdominoplasty produces a permanent scar running horizontally low across the abdomen, usually from hip to hip, plus a scar around the navel in a full abdominoplasty. This is not a possible side effect; it is an unavoidable part of the operation, and it is the trade for the skin removal.

When looking at photographs, examine the scar deliberately rather than only the silhouette. Scars fade and flatten over time but never disappear, and how a scar matures varies significantly between individuals - genetics, skin type, tension across the wound and healing all affect it. Some people develop thickened, raised or keloid scarring.

Why your result will differ

Outcomes vary depending on individual anatomy, skin quality and elasticity, the amount of excess skin, whether muscle separation is present, body type, healing, and how stable your weight is afterwards.

Two things affect the durability of the result more than most people expect:

• Weight stability. Significant weight gain after surgery can stretch the abdominal skin again. Abdominoplasty is best considered once weight has been stable for a period.
• Future pregnancy. A pregnancy after abdominoplasty can undo the muscle repair and re-stretch the skin. Most surgeons recommend completing your family first.

What abdominoplasty is and is not

Abdominoplasty removes excess skin and fat from the lower abdomen and, where indicated, repairs separated abdominal muscles. It is not a weight loss operation and not a substitute for one - and it is not liposuction, which removes fat but not skin. Where the concern is loose skin, liposuction alone will not address it; where the concern is fat with good skin tone, liposuction may be the more appropriate procedure.

Costs and Medicare

Abdominoplasty at Me Clinic ranges from $17,000 to $28,000. A Medicare rebate may be available where strict MBS criteria are met - item 30175 for abdominoplasty addressing diastasis recti in post-pregnancy women, and item 30177 for abdominoplasty after massive weight loss. Eligibility is assessed at consultation and requires a valid referral. Me Clinic is not a no-gap provider, so out-of-pocket costs will apply even where a rebate is available.

As at September 2024 and including GST, a consultation with a Specialist Plastic Surgeon is $350. Since 1 July 2023, all patients are required to have a GP referral before seeing a plastic surgeon or doctor about cosmetic surgery.

Risks

All surgical procedures carry risks and potential complications, including infection, bleeding and haematoma, seroma, permanent scarring, delayed wound healing, wound separation, skin or fat necrosis, changes in sensation across the abdomen which may be permanent, asymmetry, anaesthesia complications, and deep vein thrombosis or pulmonary embolism. Abdominoplasty is a major operation with a longer recovery than most cosmetic procedures.

Please read our information on the risks and complications of cosmetic surgery before proceeding.

Any surgical or invasive procedure carries risks. Before proceeding you should seek a second opinion from an appropriately qualified health practitioner.

Related pages

See what is a tummy tuck, tummy tuck costs, or all body procedures.