FDL stands for fleur de lis, and it appears on quotes far more often than it appears in conversation. That matters for a practical reason: a patient comparing two written quotes may be comparing an FDL against a standard abdominoplasty without realising that the second incision is the entire difference. The published national reference for this family is the American Society of Plastic Surgeons average cost of a tummy tuck, $8,174, a surgeon fee excluding anesthesia, operating room facilities and other related expenses.
Ask providers for a written price
Reading the abbreviation on a written quote
A quote that says FDL abdominoplasty is quoting the vertical-incision operation. A quote that says abdominoplasty, full abdominoplasty or standard abdominoplasty is quoting the horizontal one. If two quotes differ by thousands and one of them carries those three letters, the difference is probably the operation rather than the practice. Asking both practices to quote the same named operation is the only way to make the comparison mean anything.
What else appears on these quotes and is worth decoding
Muscle repair, sometimes written as rectus plication or diastasis repair, is a line that changes the operation and is not always included. Liposuction of the flanks is frequently quoted alongside and is a separate charge. The facility and the anesthetist may appear as their own lines or be folded into a package. ASPS lists the facility, anesthesia, tests, garments and prescriptions as the costs that sit outside a surgeon fee, and on a written quote they are usually itemised.
Why no separate average is published
ASPS publishes one average for abdominoplasty and does not break it down by variant, so there is no national FDL figure to quote. This record will not manufacture one. The $8,174 is a reference for the surgeon's own charge on the standard operation, and the useful number for an FDL is the written quote from a practice that has examined you, itemised in the six lines above.
Questions people ask about fdl tummy tuck
What does FDL mean on a tummy tuck quote?
Fleur de lis: an abdominoplasty with a vertical midline incision in addition to the horizontal one, used where skin excess runs side to side as well as up and down.
Is there a published FDL price?
No. ASPS publishes one abdominoplasty average, $8,174 as a surgeon fee excluding anesthesia and facility, and does not break it down by variant.
Why is one quote so much higher than another?
Frequently because one is for an FDL and the other is not, or because one includes muscle repair and flank liposuction and the other does not. Ask both to quote the same named operation.
What should an itemised quote show?
Surgeon, anesthesia, facility, tests, garments and prescriptions, which are the six cost lines ASPS names.