Hagopian Plastic Surgery: Thomas Hagopian, MD
99 Krog St. NE, Unit C110
Atlanta, GA 30307
Phone: (404) 885-8542
Tuesday–Friday: 8 a.m.–5 p.m.
If you’ve had one or more babies or lost a significant amount of weight, you deserve to celebrate what your body has achieved. You also deserve to love how your tummy looks now as much as you did before (or more). If you want to get rid of the loose skin and separated muscles that are common after these changes, board-certified plastic surgeons and body contouring experts Dr. Thomas Hagopian and Dr. Courtney Cripps can help with a drainless tummy tuck (abdominoplasty) in Atlanta, Georgia.
On this page, you’ll find answers to all your questions about tummy tucks, from the benefits they offer to what you can expect as you recover. Learn all about how this surgery can help you reclaim your shape and reinvigorate your body confidence.
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VIEW PHOTOSA drainless tummy tuck is a cosmetic procedure that tightens loose abdominal skin and repairs separated abdominal muscles (diastasis recti) without the use of post-surgical drains.
A traditional tummy tuck requires post-surgical drains to prevent fluid buildup as you heal. While this reduces your risk of a seroma (fluid accumulation), drains must be regularly emptied and monitored during recovery and removed at a separate follow-up appointment. Many people find post-surgical drains uncomfortable and cumbersome during tummy tuck recovery.
To enhance his patients’ recovery experience, Dr. Hagopian and Dr. Cripps employ advanced techniques to eliminate the need for drains. They use progressive tension sutures to prevent fluid buildup at the source. These layered sutures compress the area, eliminating open pockets and encouraging your body to reabsorb excess fluid harmlessly. The result is a faster, more manageable recovery with the same attractive outcome.
A tummy tuck corrects:
*Large or complicated hernias must often be repaired before your tummy tuck surgery. However, hernia repair surgery may be covered by insurance.
As a leading expert in body contouring and lipedema care, Dr. Hagopian is known for his compassion and exceptional results. For combinations targeting the lower body, Dr. Hagopian typically stages surgeries over two procedures. Popular options include:
An ideal candidate is someone in good general health who wants to improve the shape and tone of their abdomen after weight loss or pregnancy. Keep in mind that a tummy tuck is not a weight-loss procedure; it works best when you have maintained a stable weight for at least 6 months and are at or near your goal weight.
For safety reasons, you should also be a non-smoker, at least six months postpartum with no immediate plans to have more children, and have a BMI (body mass index) of 37 or lower.
The most reliable way to get rid of an apron belly is a tummy tuck, since diet and exercise alone usually can’t correct excess lower-abdominal skin and fat once it has lost its ability to retract. This loose, hanging skin, sometimes called a pannus or “apron belly,” is a common occurrence after pregnancy, weight fluctuation, or significant weight loss.
For patients with a smaller or purely skin-based apron belly, a panniculectomy alone may be enough. Patients with excess skin that extends into the flanks may need an extended tummy tuck, which lengthens the incision to address a broader area. For more significant cases, Dr. Hagopian and Dr. Cripps may recommend a fleur-de-lis tummy tuck, which adds a vertical incision to remove excess tissue in both directions for a more complete result.
A panniculectomy removes the hanging apron of skin and fat without tightening the underlying abdominal muscles or repositioning the belly button, while a tummy tuck does both: it removes the excess skin and repairs separated muscles (diastasis recti) for a firmer, more contoured result. Dr. Hagopian and Dr. Cripps will help determine which approach—or a combination of the two—fits your goals, anatomy, and medical history during your consultation.
Drainless tummy tuck costs reflect the complexity of the procedure, the surgeon’s expertise, and other individual factors. We will give you a personalized price estimate during your consultation so you know exactly what to expect.
Many patients use health care financing to make their tummy tuck more affordable. Please visit our Fees & Financing page to learn more about your financing options.
Our surgeons perform your drainless tummy tuck while you are under general anesthesia. During this outpatient surgery, they create an incision low on your abdomen from hip bone to hip bone and another encircling your belly button to release it from the surrounding skin. They then tighten the abdominal muscles if needed, pull your skin taut, trim away any excess, and close the incision.
Once your abdominal skin is tightened, your surgeon creates a new opening for your belly button, carefully suturing it closed to give it a natural, inconspicuous appearance. In most cases, they use liposuction to remove excess fat and sculpt your ideal contours.
Patients frequently combine their tummy tuck with other procedures. Liposuction is commonly added to a tummy tuck for more precise contouring. Many women combine breast augmentation and breast lift with a tummy tuck and liposuction for a mommy makeover. In some cases, our surgeons may also recommend adding a skin-tightening treatment for enhanced results.
If your concerns are more complex, Dr. Hagopian and Dr. Cripps are particularly known for developing strategic, multi-procedure body contouring treatment plans. For example, if you have lipedema or are bothered by excess skin after significant weight loss, a body lift procedure can offer a profound improvement in your mobility, comfort, and self-confidence. A lower body lift includes a tummy tuck and addresses the thighs and buttocks, while an upper body lift targets the arms, bra-line, upper back, and chest.
Plastic surgery is the perfect field for Dr. Hagopian, who has a knack for fixing things and helping people. He’s a former firefighter/paramedic, and he had a business building highly sought-after custom taillights in medical school. He met his wife, Nurse Hagopian, at Emory University, and they bonded over many shared interests, including a commitment to exceptional patient care.
Meet Dr. Thomas Hagopian
Georgia native Dr. Courtney Cripps has returned home to bring her expertise in facial, breast, body, and reconstructive plastic surgery to Hagopian Plastic Surgery. With advanced training at NYU Langone Health and a personalized approach to patient care, she is dedicated to helping every patient achieve natural-looking results that reflect their goals and lifestyle.
Meet Dr. Courtney CrippsMost people need 2 to 3 weeks away from work to recover from a tummy tuck and 4 to 6 weeks to resume exercise. You will walk stooped over for a few days until your tighter skin stretches a little. It may take 6 months or more for your swelling to subside completely.
Our surgeons use long-acting numbing medications and enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) protocols to improve your comfort and minimize your need for narcotic pain medications. They also encourage patients to book weekly lymphatic massage treatments to promote healing. Our office can recommend several highly skilled providers who offer this service.
Additionally, not having to hassle with external drains greatly enhances our patients’ recovery.
Tummy tuck scars sit low on your abdomen in an area easily hidden, even by swimwear. These scars eventually fade to thin, light lines. We offer multiple scar reduction therapies to minimize scarring, including microneedling, steroid injections, and silicone gel strips from the Silagen® scar refinement system.
As long as you maintain a stable weight and avoid future fluctuations or pregnancies, your tummy tuck results should last for good.
Abdominoplasty, colloquially referred to as a tummy tuck, is a procedure to remove extra skin and fat from the abdomen. The goal of this surgery is to improve the contour or shape of the abdomen.
An abdominoplasty lifts and removes excess abdominal skin and tightens the rectus (6-pack) muscles. Liposuction simply destroys and removes fat cells, but it doesn’t address the skin or the muscles.
A standard tummy tuck may offer mild improvement to the mons pubis area as part of overall abdominal tightening, but it isn’t designed to specifically address this region. For more noticeable fullness or laxity in the mons pubis, we may recommend combining your tummy tuck with a dedicated mons lift for a flatter, more contoured result.
A tummy tuck can improve mild fullness above the pubic area, but it may not fully resolve a more pronounced fupa (fatty upper pubic area) on its own. Pairing your tummy tuck with a mons lift typically delivers a flatter, more complete result if this is a specific concern.
You will not have drains, but this is determined by your surgeon at the time of surgery, and he or she will prepare you if you need them.
As a general guideline, we recommend a BMI of 37 or less for surgery. However, candidacy for a plus-size tummy tuck is evaluated on an individual basis rather than by a single BMI cutoff. Patients above the recommended threshold can discuss a staged surgical plan or a pre-surgical weight-loss strategy with Dr. Hagopian or Dr. Cripps to work toward candidacy.
Abdominoplasty does not fall under the medically necessary category of plastic surgery. It is an out-of-pocket procedure at our practice.
The most serious complication is a blood clot. Although this is rare, it is a medical emergency. Signs of a blood clot include swelling to one leg with pain and redness in the area, difficulty breathing, or chest pain. If you experience these symptoms, immediately report to the emergency room for evaluation.
You may return to light activity at 3 weeks and most exercises at 6 weeks. Light activity encompasses walking or stationary cycling, for example, without breaking a sweat. Wait 3 months for heavy core work.
You will begin with a compression garment like a girdle or binder. At week 1, we recommend switching to a “faja” for more intense compression. The surgical team will provide your medical compression on the day of surgery and your secondary garment to begin wearing at 1-week post-op.
You can see our recommended compression and order straight from Amazon.
You can shower 48 hours (about 2 days) after surgery. Let warm, soapy water run over the incisions. Do not scrub. Thoroughly dry your incisions by patting them gently.
You can usually return to work in 2 to 3 weeks, depending on your activity level at work.
Remember that the swelling after surgery may take weeks to months to resolve completely. At the 3-month mark, we typically take the “after” pictures, when your swelling and appearance will be mostly settled. Small areas of asymmetry can sometimes be fixed with a little in-office liposuction if required.
Scar revision is another in-office procedure that can help improve the appearance of your scars after surgery. If you are prone to keloids, please tell your surgeon beforehand so we can pre-treat you. If keloids develop after surgery and you have not had keloids before, steroid injections may improve hypertrophy.
If you would like to learn more about whether a drainless tummy tuck is right for you, please request a consultation online or call (404) 885-8542. Our Atlanta office welcomes people interested in tummy tuck surgery from Inman Park, Druid Hills, Decatur, and throughout Georgia.
