Mommy Makeover

The physical changes to a woman’s body after childbirth can be particularly hard to combat. Many women suffer permanent damage to the abdominal wall musculature, as well as volume loss and sagging from breastfeeding. When diet and exercise alone have failed, this suite of post maternity body contouring procedures allows women to regain their former curves. And while cosmetic surgery after pregnancy isn’t a new phenomenon, the escalating demand for Mommy Makeovers reflects a generation of mothers who aren’t ashamed to admit they had a nip and tuck in their quest for a more a youthful, streamlined figure.

Even if you’re in fantastic shape before getting pregnant, battling baby weight is no easy task. According to an ASPS survey, 62 % of women polled would seek cosmetic surgery after having kids. Mommy Makeovers have become a mainstream request, partly because of a more body-conscious culture and the array of advanced procedures available – all on an outpatient basis. Douglas Mackenzie, MD, a California board-certified plastic surgeon, attributes this post-maternity breast and body contouring trend to a universal acceptance of plastic surgery as well as our society’s apparent obsession with looking young.

“Unlike our parents’ generation, [these mothers] want to stay young and feel young, and preserve the body they’ve had,” Dr. Mackenzie explains. “The music they listen to, the restaurants they go to, the clothes they wear, all have a lot to do with it. It’s a new generation.”

Mommy Makeover procedures

Since every woman is unique in her ability to bounce back after pregnancy, Mommy Makeovers will vary from patient to patient. This collection of post-baby plastic surgery procedures is designed to address separation of the abdominal wall, deflated breasts, the appearance of stretchmarks, as well as extra skin and pounds around the midsection and thighs. Some women may also benefit from complementary procedures such as an arm lift or thigh lift. However, if more kids are in your future, you are encouraged to postpone plastic surgery procedures until you’re done having children.

TUMMY TUCKS

Tummy tucks are the cornerstone of most Mommy Makeovers. No matter how many crunches you do, paunches of fat and loose skin on your waistline may remain stubbornly unimproved after childbirth. In these cases, abdominoplasty may be one of the best way to restore youthful firmness to your midsection. This outpatient procedure takes between two and four hours, depending on whether a mini or full tummy tuck is performed.

Most plastic surgeons recommend waiting to have tummy tuck surgery until you’re done having children. This is because pregnancy after a tummy tuck can affect long-term results and satisfaction with the original work done. For instance, while damaged abdominal muscles are repaired by your surgeon during tummy tuck surgery, they can easily separate again with another pregnancy. This doesn’t mean that women can’t have a child after a tummy tuck, but that the results may be compromised.

But can abdominoplasty reduce the appearance of scarring from C-sections or a hysterectomy? According to respected Dallas plastic surgeon, Dr. Fred Hackney, the answer is yes. One of his patients, who had gone through four Cesarean sections and a hysterectomy, was left with puckered, uneven skin and noticeable scars. This didn’t affect the outcome of her Mommy Makeover. “The scarring doesn’t even come into play at all. It’s minimal compared to what I had before the abdominoplasty. It’s changed the way I feel about me.”

BREAST AUGMENTATION

A breast lift or augmentation is another key component of the Mommy Makeover. During a breast lift procedure the nipples may be raised or made smaller through an areola reduction. Also known as mastopexy, this procedure raises the breasts to their pre-baby position, though it will not change their size or fullness. Ideal candidates are mothers who have pendulous breasts, enlarged areolas, and are bothered by downward pointing nipples. But just raising the breasts isn’t a solution for everyone.

Once breastfeeding stops, hormones decline and breast tissues deflate noticeably. To replace lost volume and achieve pre-pregnancy firmness, breast augmentation with saline, silicone or gummy bear implants is recommended. Women who are naturally small-chested may do better with the implants placed beneath the chest muscle, rather than directly under the skin. In general, Dr. Preminger prefers this approach since the muscle provides added coverage for the implant and allows for a more natural shape. If you have good skin elasticity and minimal drooping, breast implants alone without a lift may offer amazing results.

LIPOSUCTION

Body contouring is an integral part of postpartum plastic surgery, and stubborn pockets of fat are no match for liposuction – a minimally invasive procedure that contours the waist and targeted areas, giving added definition. The procedure removes excess fat cells from problem post-pregnancy areas including the thighs, waist, buttocks and love handles. Though liposuction is permanent, results do require maintenance with a healthy diet and exercise.

Many women may wonder how they’ll finance their post-pregnancy plastic surgery. “Figuring out the cost of a Mommy Makeover before your consultation can be a bit tricky because there are different combinations of procedures for everyone,” says David B. Reath, MD – a prominent Knoxville plastic surgeon.

This trio of cosmetic surgery procedures is probably more affordable than you might think considering the long-lasting results. And as with any medical procedure, cheaper is never better. Private consultations, in which your particular goals are addressed, will give patients an idea on the total cost of Mommy Makeover procedures, including anesthesia, surgery and ancillary fees. Dr. Preminger also provides flexible financing options for her Manhattan and fly-in patients.

Risks of Mommy Makeover surgery

Reclaiming their sexy, pre-baby body is a dream for countless mothers. But do the risks of multiple surgeries outweigh the benefits?

Reversing the wear and tear of childbirth and motherhood is no simple task, and as with any surgical procedure, there is some risk of complications. As Texas plastic surgeon Dr. Michael Bogdan reminds patients, “[Tummy tuck] is a major surgery, so there are the standard risks of bleeding and infection. There’s also the risk for clots, so it’s important to walk around after surgery.”

Selective patient screening is paramount as are realistic expectations. Mommy Makeovers are not for drastic weight loss, and patients must be in good health.  Moreover, not all plastic surgeons are created equal. You must be confident about the expertise of your chosen doctor and surgical team.

Mommy makeover specials in NYC

Dr. Preminger believes that moms deserve to feel sexy and confident about their bodies at any age. She and her compassionate staff are dedicated to giving mothers one of the best results possible and a renewed sense of self. If you are considering a Mommy Makeover, Dr. Preminger will suggest a complement of procedures to meet your aesthetic goals that fit within your price range. For more information about pricing specials, please contact our office for a consultation.

Video Transcription:

[Dr. Preminger] A mommy makeover actually can encompass a lot of different procedures. It means different things to different people. The point of it is basically, to restore the changes that have happened from breastfeeding and childbirth. As far as the breasts are concerned, breastfeeding and pregnancy can cause the breast to become deflated and sad. And so what happens is the breasts just lose volume and they start to droop. And there’s just no other way to give back that volume, other than lifting the breasts and often putting an implant in. Often it’s some combination of the two. So some women just need the volume restored and that’s enough. Other women need volume restored and a lift. Other women still have volume, it’s just all in the wrong place and is sitting too far down on the chest. So with all of these different procedures, we can restore or sometimes even improve upon what was there in the beginning.

As far as the belly is concerned, it usually involves a tummy tuck. And one of the things that happens to accommodate a pregnancy is that a woman’s abdominal muscles actually separate and that’s how the abdominal wall stretches for pregnancy basically, to accommodate a baby growing inside of you. So one of the things we do with a tummy tuck is we actually sew those muscles back together again to tighten the waist and restore the integrity of the abdominal wall– which is fantastic! And then different women have different amounts of extra skin and fat on the abdominal wall. So that’s where a tummy tuck comes in. And so with a tummy tuck, I actually remove all of that fat. And patients always ask me, “Well, will it come back again?” And the truth is that the odds are it won’t. We like to consider this an investment in yourself. So once you’re done having your kids and you go ahead with this sort of a thing, this is an investment in you. And in giving you back what you had before and sometimes even improving upon it actually.

So in this case, this patient actually had a couple of different complaints. So one of them was that she lost fullness in her breasts and the breasts were drooping somewhat. She also was really unhappy with the appearance of her belly. And in particular what she wanted was a waist. And in truth, she said she never really had one to begin with. Which is common and that only worsens with pregnancy. So one of the things that we did was put in breast implants, which really gave her back a lot of fullness to the breasts and gave her more fullness than she ever had before, which is really what she wanted. And for that I used an infra-areolar incision, which is an incision within the pigmented part of the nipple complex. And you really can’t see the scars at all. They’ve healed up so well. And the implants were placed below the muscle and then as far as the belly was concerned she actually had a full tummy tuck. Where I removed all of the excess skin and fat, I tightened her abdominal muscles and was really able to give her a waistline with a combination of that and liposuction of her belly and her waistline.