AboutAlan M. Engler, MD, FACS Expertise Dr. Engler has answered over 2700 plastic surgery questions for Allexperts. His expertise is in cosmetic plastic surgery including breast surgery (breast enlargement with implants, breast reduction, breast lifts), liposuction, eyelid surgery, tummy tucks, facelifts etc.
Dr. Engler has been listed as one New York`s Top Doctors, and as "One of the World's Most Famous Aesthetic Surgeons" (Aesthetic Surgery, TASCHEN Books, Angelika Taschen, Editor). He is the author of 4 books, including "BodySculpture" (a best-selling plastic surgery book on breast surgery, liposuction and tummy tucks), "EyeScapes" (Plastic Surgery of the Eyelids), "Restylane," and "The Slim Book of Liposuction."
Dr. Engler has two US Patents for surgical instruments that he's designed, and has appeared on numerous television shows, including The Tyra Banks Show, The Ricki Lake Show (four times), and the Dr. Keith Ablow Show. Videos of his appearances are available on YouTube (SEARCH FOR "DR. ENGLER"). His website is www.bodysculpture.com.
Experience Dr. Alan Engler is a board-certified plastic surgeon in New York and the author of BodySculpture - Plastic Surgery of the Body for Men and Women (ISBN 0966382749) one of the top-selling plastic surgery books on amazon.com, barnesandnoble.com, etc.
Education/Credentials Dr. Engler graduated from Yale University (undergraduate) and the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Columbia University (medical school). He did his residency training in General Surgery and, after that, Plastic Surgery, at the Montefiore Medical Center in New York. He is on the faculty of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York.
Question Is it normal to have a layer of flab hanging from my upper abs after a full tummy tuck and liposuction which was done going on to 7 months now. I am very worried. I was told that it will be very flat. It looks as though nothing was done to that area. I do feel sore and some pains.
Answer from Dr. Alan Engler
www.bodysculpture.com
Hi Bibi,
I'm sorry for the problems you're having.
Exactly what a tummy tuck and liposuction can accomplish depends on what you look like before the surgery, what surgery is done, how you heal and, finally, any changes that your body undergoes after the surgery. Without knowing what you looked like before it is not possible to comment specifically on how you've recovered from your surgery. That is particularly important if you had lost a lot of weight beforehand (such as after bariatric surgery or anything comparable) so that much of your skin's elasticity would be lost.
Either way, though, you should speak with your PS. If there is an excess of skin and tissue that is significant enough to cause an overhand, then it may actually make sense to remove some more tissue. This would be much less complicated and involved than doing something the first time around and, however disconcerting that you might have to do something, it's a lot easier to take off a little more tissue than to try to put some back.
So you should sit down with your plastic surgeon and explain what you're unhappy about, how your body has healed, etc., and see what the two of you can come up with. If more surgery is advised, it may not be possible to do so without at least some fees; even if the surgeons' fee is waived or lowered, there are inevitably anesthesia and surgery facility fees that must be addressed. At any rate, I would think that the next step should be a discussion with your PS, and see what can be done to help achieve the results you expected from the start.
