Mommy Makeover

Mommy makeovers are designed to reverse the physical changes associated with childbearing and aging. If childbirth has left you with the following characteristics, consider undergoing a 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.

Mommy makeover is a descriptive term, not a procedure, so your first step is to consult with your plastic surgeon and decide on the procedures you will undergo.

The following procedures described below are common to mommy makeovers.

A flabby abdomen results from fat, poor skin elasticity, excess skin, and stretching of the inner girdle of connective tissue (fascia) and abdominal muscles (rectus muscles), extending from the ribs to the pubic bone. This inner girdle, which holds the internal organs in place, gets stretched during pregnancy or weight gain and the stomach protrudes. Abdominoplasty removes loose, excess skin and fat and tightens slack fascia, removing a good amount of stretch marks and excess skin in the lower abdomen below the belly button.

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. Women who desire larger, smaller, or more rounded breasts may want to consider a breast augmentation or breast reduction along with the breast lift. 

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.

A tummy tuck may narrow your waist, but not your hips. 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.

You have many options, beginning with your choice of which procedures to undergo.

If you undergo breast augmentation, you will choose between silicone and saline breast implants, or, possibly, fat grafting. Depending on the size and shape you would like to achieve, your surgeon will give you some recommendations.

If you undergo liposuction, your plastic surgeon will explain the many new technologies associated with it.

In any of the mommy makeover surgeries, your preferences will be a deciding factor in incision placement as much as possible.