Mommy Makeover
Introduction:
A mommy makeover is any combination of cosmetic procedures that restore your before-pregnancy appearance, typically focusing on the breasts and abdomen. A typical makeover might include a tummy tuck, a breast procedure such as an augmentation, lift or reduction and liposuction of the legs, arms or trunk. The term “mommy makeover” may be new, but the procedures involved have a long, successful, and safe track record.
Considerations:
Pros
– Restores a more youthful bust and flat tummy
– Your clothes and swimwear will fit better
– Helps you return to a more youthful-looking body appearance
Cons
– If you get breast implants, they will require monitoring and possibly replacement.
– Pregnancy following these surgeries may compromise results.
– Weight gain following these surgeries may compromise results.
Am I a good candidate Mommy Makeover?
– You have sagging breasts, uneven breasts, decreased breast volume, drooping nipples and stretched areolas (the dark skin surrounding the nipple).
– Your breasts have become so much larger after childbirth that they are out of proportion with the rest of your body and they cause back pain.
– Your tummy has loose skin and stretch marks and your waistline has become thick and undefined.
– You had a C-section and now you have areas of fat hanging over your surgical scar.
– You have excess fat in the love-handle area as well as in the hips and thighs.
– You have early signs of aging in your face and around the eyes.
If you are in good general health and have a positive attitude and realistic expectations, you are most likely a good candidate for this procedure.
About Your Procedure:
How is a mommy makeover procedure performed?
Mommy makeover is a descriptive term, not a single procedure.
Tummy tuck – also known as abdominoplasty
Abdominoplasty removes loose, excess skin and fat and tightens slack fascia, removing stretch marks and excess skin in the lower abdomen below the belly button.
The incision, which typically runs from hip to hip, is closed with sutures. This will leave a scar that falls along the natural crease within the bikini line.
Liposuction – also known as lipoplasty
Liposuction can improve the contour of flanks or hips, so the surgeon performing your mommy makeover will likely recommend liposuction of the hips and thighs at the same time as a tummy tuck. Liposuction is also effective in the chest, thighs, neck, upper arms, and knees.
Breast lift – also known as mastopexy
A breast lift or mastopexy treats sagging and uneven breasts, decreased breast volume, drooping nipples, and stretched areolas, returning a youthful shape and lift to your breasts.
Breast reduction
During pregnancy, your breasts usually swell to a fuller size and shape. In some women, the breasts remain larger. This can be a welcome change unless your breasts have become disproportionately large and cause pain, poor posture, rashes, breathing problems, skeletal deformities, or low self-esteem. Breast reduction solves these problems by removing fat and glandular tissue and tightening skin to produce smaller, lighter breasts.
Breast augmentation – also known as augmentation mammaplasty
Breast augmentation increases or restores breast size using silicone gel implants, saline implants, or fat grafting.
Breast lift combined with breast augmentation
If you want your breasts to be larger in addition to being less droopy, or if you desire to maintain projection and roundness of the breast mound and your drooping is severe, your plastic surgeon may recommend a breast lift combined with a breast augmentation as part of your mommy makeover.
What will my mommy makeover incisions and scars be like?
Every effort will be made to make these as small and inconspicuous as possible. Plastic surgeons are adept at hiding them.
Preparing For Your Procedure:
– Achieve your desired target weight first, but not in the month before surgery.
– Make sure you are exercising at least thirty minutes per day.
– Be sure to have a healthy diet with a variety of vitamins, nutrients, and antioxidants.
– Keep alcohol consumption at less than two to three drinks per week.
– Stop smoking at least six weeks before undergoing surgery to promote better healing.
– Avoid taking aspirin, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medications (NSAIDs: Advil, Motrin, Aleve), and vitamins/homeopathic regimens that can increase bleeding.
Aftercare And Recovery
Immediately after a mommy makeover
Generally, you can expect to be bandaged, wearing compression garments, and you may have some surgical drains.
When the anesthesia wears off, you may have some pain. If the pain is extreme or lasts long, contact your physician. You will also have some swelling after the surgery. In some cases, this swelling will remain for weeks or even months. Contact your physician to find out if your pain and swelling is normal or a sign of a problem.
Recovery time frame
– The recovery period is significant and can be intense the first few days. We recommend that you speak with your surgeon about using a pain pump as well as medications to control pain and discomfort, so that you can move about and sleep as needed.
– The tummy tuck component of the makeover is the most uncomfortable. Make sure you follow your surgeon’s instructions carefully. The first two days are the most uncomfortable. Discomfort typically drops down to a “nagging” level by five to seven days.
– Full recovery is about six weeks. You should be up and walking slowly the day after surgery.
– By the end of the first week, you should be walking around the house frequently, but you are still unable to drive.
– You will probably be comfortable enough to drive a car in two weeks, when all of the sutures and drains will be removed.
– You will likely go back for follow-up evaluation with your surgeon within five days. During this visit, your doctor can remove the drainage tubes. Swelling should subside within five weeks, and the results are apparent within three months.
– Having both procedures done at the same time does not lengthen the recovery. For example, breast augmentation recovery is approximately seven days, and tummy tuck recovery is ten to fourteen days. Your recovery period for both procedures will be in the ten to fourteen days.
How Long Will My Results Last?
Barring another pregnancy or significant weight gain, your results should be permanent, though plastic surgery cannot stop you from normal aging.
Limitations And Risks:
Fortunately, serious risks of mommy makeover surgeries are rare and the satisfaction rate with these procedures is high.
All surgical procedures have some degree of risk. Some of the potential complications of all surgeries are:
– Adverse reaction to anesthesia
– Hematoma or seroma (an accumulation of blood or fluid under the skin that may require removal)
– Infection and bleeding
– Changes in sensation
– Scarring
– Allergic reactions
– Damage to underlying structures
– Unsatisfactory results that may necessitate additional procedures