Mommy Makeover

With all the stress we put on our midsections—during pregnancy or with weight gain and loss—it’s no wonder that, as we age, the shape and size of our stomachs change. When diet and exercise don’t provide the results that you want, a surgical procedure like a tummy tuck (or lipoabdominoplasty) may be your best option.

A tummy tuck restores firmness to the stomach and removes any loose skin. Depending on the extent of your particular post-pregnancy concerns, there are a variety of tummy tuck procedures that treat different degrees of muscle and skin laxity. Some procedures are performed with limited incisions and leave shorter scars.

Here are the various types of tummy tuck surgery you will may want to consider either as part of your Mommy Makeover or as a single procedure:

• Traditional Tummy Tuck – full abdominoplasty
• Extended Tummy Tuck – belt lipectomy
• Mini Tummy Tuck – short scar or small incision abdominoplasty
• Reverse Tummy Tuck – the incision is made from the breast bone to the stomach

Nonsurgical Body Contouring – using liposuction, lasers or injectables
Women who have had C-sections (or Cesarean sections) are in luck—your plastic surgeon can either use or remove that incision while performing the tummy tuck, so you will have only one scar.

 Your breasts may have been a perfect size and shape before and during pregnancy, but after breast-feeding they sag or have lose tissue volume. This happens because during pregnancy and even into breast-feeding, the breasts are greatly affected by hormonal changes. Once these hormones decrease, the tissue deflates.

Breast enhancement—such as breast augmentation, breast reduction, or breast lift—can restore shape and size to your breasts, even making them bigger and fuller than they were before you got pregnant.

It’s important to know that post-pregnancy breast augmentation patients may not be candidates for implant placement through the armpit if their breasts are droopy. It may be more appropriate to place the implant through an incision around the nipple or in the breast crease so the surgeon can manipulate and adjust the tissues. Incision placement is a key area of concern, so always consult with your surgeon in your pre-op evaluation.

Liposuction alone can remove fat, but it cannot do anything to treat stretched muscles or extra skin. A tummy tuck takes care of all of the abdominal issues experienced by post-pregnancy women—the stretch marks, excess skin and stretched abdominal wall—and also gives surgeons the ability to bring in the waist like a corset. That’s why liposuction is often performed in conjunction with the Tummy Tuck to accentuate the waist and add definition to the abdomen. This is a crucial part of any Mommy Makeover. A nicely contoured waist blends into the flattened abdomen in a natural way. Likewise, a narrowed waist complements the proportions created by the breast procedure. The result is a body that looks much like what the patient had prior to her pregnancy or pregnancies.

 While there’s no miracle cream that can fully prevent stretch marks from forming (they are genetic to some degree), you may be able to minimize the chances of getting them or reduce their severity, by keeping the body well moisturized.

Stretch marks can appear almost anywhere on the body but they usually develop on the stomach, breasts, thighs, hips and butt during pregnancy.

How to treat stretch marks?

If your stretch marks aren’t fading, there are laser skin-resurfacing treatments that will help reduce them. Consult with a cosmetic plastic surgeon about how to best reduce or eliminate them.

Since the recovery period involves post-treatment care for multiple procedures, it might affect caring for children during recovery. It is important to discuss post-surgical care with your surgeon to fully understand what is involved after surgery, how long recovery time will be and when you can expect to see results.