What Is a Fleur-de-Lis Tummy Tuck? Price and Procedure Guide

If excess or loose skin around your midsection is taking a toll on your self-confidence, a tummy tuck may be just the boost you need. There are several tummy tuck options available, depending on what your doctor may recommend. Let's take a look at one of these types: the Fleur-de-Lis tummy tuck.

What Is a Fleur-de-Lis Tummy Tuck?

In a Fleur-de-Lis tummy tuck, two types of tummy tuck incisions are combined, enabling a surgeon to cut away additional excess skin.¹ The incisions consist of a horizontal incision across the lower abdomen and a vertical incision that travels from just below the breastplate to the belly button and pubic area.¹ The shape drawn on the abdomen before surgery resembles a French symbol, known as the fleur-de-lis, or lily flower.²

Traditional Tummy Tuck vs. Fleur-de-Lis Tummy Tuck

A traditional tummy tuck typically just tightens loose skin in a downward pattern. A Fleur-de-Lis tummy tuck allows the surgeon to remove that extra skin from both the vertical and horizontal directions, which leads to a flatter abdomen in all directions. It will produce two scars that resemble an upside-down letter T.²

Who Is a Good Candidate for a Fleur-de-Lis Tummy Tuck?

Fleur-de-Lis tummy tucks are ideal for people who have lost a lot of weight and have an excess amount of loose skin remaining.² A tummy tuck is technically permanent, but further changes in weight can reduce the benefits.³ For this reason, it is ideal for people who plan or wish to become pregnant to wait until they are done having children to obtain the procedure.³ People getting this treatment should also be in good health without any underlying health conditions that might negatively impair healing, and maintain their health through good nutrition and regular exercise.⁴

How Much Does a Fleur-de-Lis Tummy Tuck Cost?

Because a Fleur-de-Lis tummy tuck requires two types of incisions and sometimes a greater amount of skin removal, costs can vary widely for this procedure. The average cost of a Fleur-de-Lis tummy tuck in the U.S. is $13,099, but the cost can range between $9,500 and $16,500.⁵ This does not include anesthesia, operating room facilities and other fees.⁶

Are Fleur-de-Lis Tummy Tucks Covered by Insurance?

Most of the time, tummy tucks of all kinds — including the Fleur-de-Lis — are not considered medically necessary and thus not covered by insurance.⁶ However, there may be an exception if the patient can prove that they are getting persistent refractory rashes on the anterior abdominal wall from too much skin chafing.¹ If it can be proved that this interferes with your daily functioning and activities of daily living, some insurance companies may cover some of your tummy tuck costs.¹

Preparing for a Fleur-de-Lis Tummy Tuck

A tummy tuck is a surgical procedure, so your surgeon or doctor may ask you to do the following in advance:⁷

• Undergo a medical evaluation
• Obtain lab tests
• Add or adjust medications
• Stop smoking
• Cease taking aspirin, anti-inflammatory drugs and herbal supplements that may increase bleeding

If you opt for an outpatient procedure, you will need someone to drive you to and from surgery and possibly stay with you for that first night after surgery.⁷

How a Fleur-de-Lis Tummy Tuck Works

Although procedure steps may vary from surgeon to surgeon, the general overview involves the following:⁸

1. Administering anesthesia (intravenous or general). Anesthesia is the medicine that makes you comfortable during a surgical procedure. Intravenous anesthesia can be delivered while you're awake, but you should not feel pain. General anesthesia puts you to sleep.
2. Making incisions. A traditional tummy tuck usually involves a horizontal incision between the pubic line and the belly button. In the Fleur-de-Lis tummy tuck, which includes a horizontal and a vertical incision, the horizontal incision may be made before the vertical one in order to take out additional excess skin.
3. Skin tightening and trimming. The surgeon will pull the skin down somewhat like a window shade. Any excess skin will be trimmed and then what remains is stitched together, leaving an opening for the belly button, which will be pushed through and stitched into place.
4. Closing the incisions. Once surgery is done, the surgeon will close up the incision with one of several options, typically stitches, surgical tape or surgical clips.

What Are Some Potential Risks and Side Effects?

Any surgical procedure can involve potential side effects or opportunities for challenges to arise. These could include:⁹

• Problems associated with anesthesia
• Asymmetry in the shape of your abdomen after surgery
• Bleeding
• Deep vein thrombosis (blood clot) with cardiac and pulmonary complications
• Fat necrosis (when fatty tissue dies)
• Fluid retention
• Infection
• Numbness
• Pain that persists

Other possible problems could include the need for revision surgery, recurring looseness of skin due to weight changes, skin discoloration and scarring.⁹

Your surgeon may suggest a scar-reducing cream or even laser therapy to help minimize scarring.¹⁰

Recovering From a Fleur-de-Lis Tummy Tuck

The recovery process will vary among individuals, but you will most likely have bandages applied to your incisions and may even receive a compression garment to reduce swelling and support your healing. In some cases, small drains may be placed temporarily beneath the skin to drain fluid or blood that collects.¹¹

Your healthcare provider should give you instructions on how to care for the surgical sites and drains, as well as medications to apply, concerns to look for and when to follow up with your surgeon.¹¹

Initial results will take time to fully reveal themselves as the swelling of surgery goes down and until you can stand fully upright. It may take one to two weeks before you can stand straight enough to see the results, and longer than that for full healing to conclude.¹²

Financing a Fleur-de-Lis Tummy Tuck With the CareCredit Credit Card

Ready to revitalize your appearance and boost your confidence? The CareCredit credit card makes it easy to pay for Fleur-de-Lis tummy tucks and related expenses not covered by health insurance. Use our Acceptance Locator to find a doctor or cosmetic surgeon near you that accepts CareCredit so you can stop dreaming and start living your best life. Continue your wellness journey by downloading the CareCredit Mobile App to manage your CareCredit account, find a provider on the go and easily access the Well U blog for more great articles, podcasts and videos.

In addition to cosmetic procedures, you can also use your CareCredit credit card for dentistry, pet care, vision, hearing and so much more within the CareCredit network. How will you invest in your health and wellness next?

Author Bio

Jordan Rosenfeld has been freelance writing for 21 years about finances, health, education and more. Her work has appeared in The Atlantic, The Billfold, Good Magazine, GoBanking Rates, Daily Worth, Quartz, Medical Economics, The New York Times, Paypal, The Washington Post and more.