The Best Way to Prepare for a Mommy Makeover

The mommy makeover is one of the most extensive procedures performed in cosmetic surgery. For this reason, preparing for surgery in every possible way will not only improve your result, but the quality of the experience as well. It’s important to prepare physically, medically, and mentally for this procedure.

It’s important to be in good physical condition before proceeding with this procedure. Ideally, results are best when patients are within ten percent of their ideal body weight. In some cases, patients are unable to reach this goal. This group still benefits from the procedure. In addition it’s also important to maintain good nutrition, exercise regularly and maintain a healthy life style.

It’s also important to be medically ready for the mommy makeover. Patients should be extensively evaluated to rule out other medical conditions. Areas of particular concern include cigarette smoking, blood pressure management and the patient’s baseline hemoglobin.

Mental preparation for the mommy makeover is also extremely important and helps lower the anxiety levels before surgery. It’s important that you have a comfort level with your anesthesiologist, surgeon and the surgical facility. It’s essential that all your questions be answered so there are no surprises.

Arrangements for post-operative care also need to be in order. It’s important to have a care giver not only for yourself, but your children as well. Addressing as many of these issues as possible before surgery will significantly improve results and the quality of the experience. 

C-Sections & Tummy Tucks

Abdominoplasty isn’t recommended immediately following a C-section for a variety of reasons. These include the inability to make aesthetic judgments immediately following pregnancy, the mother’s overall health status, and the demands of a newborn child on the mother.

The timing of surgery following pregnancy is important and several issues should be considered before proceeding with surgery. It takes time for a new post-pregnancy body to reach its new baseline following pregnancy, and during this transition, it’s impossible to make aesthetic judgments. During this period, stretched skin may contract, a swollen uterus may shrink, and the weight gained during pregnancy may gradually disappear. This process takes 3 to 6 months and needs to occur before abdominoplasty is performed. 

Ideally, patients should be within 10% of their ideal body weight and in good health otherwise. The majority of women who have undergone C-sections aren’t in good physical shape and are therefore not optimal candidates for surgery for a variety of reasons. These may include severe fatigue, a depressed immune system, possible blood loss, an increased potential for infection and elevated estrogen levels which can increase the risk of blood clots.

Finally, the demands of a newborn would make the recovery from these combined procedures very difficult. For instance, the use of postoperative pain medications would prevent you from breast feeding. In other words, the abdominoplasty might impact your developing relationships with your newborn child. 

For all these reasons, it’s obvious that C-section and abdominoplasty shouldn’t be performed together. If you’re considering abdominoplasty it’s important to give yourself time to fully recover from your C-section. Once this has occurred it’s appropriate to consult a board-certified plastic surgeon.  

The Ideal Weight for Tummy Tuck Surgery

There’s no question that being close to your ideal body weight improves the results from tummy tuck surgery. It also decreases the potential for complications with this type of surgical procedure. For these reasons, we prefer that patients be within 10% of their ideal body weight at the time of surgery.
 
Unfortunately, reaching an ideal weight is easier said than done. The vast majority of patients are unsuccessful at losing this additional weight. 

It’s also important to know that even when patients are overweight, they can potentially benefit from abdominoplasty. 

Every patient must be evaluated on an individual basis.
 
We encourage patients to lose weight before surgery and prefer that their weight be stable for at least three months. We realize that some patients will have difficulty losing weight. We therefore encourage patients to be in a supervised weight loss program. Even with that help, some patients will be unsuccessful in their effort to lose weight. 

Even without weight loss, many of these patients will still potentially benefit from tummy tuck surgery.
 
It’s important to realize that weight loss following tummy tuck surgery can affect the final result. This could even result in the need for revisional surgery. For these reasons, it’s important to thoroughly discuss this issue with your board-certified plastic surgeon.

Tummy Tuck Recovery

Abdominoplasty removes excess abdominal skin while simultaneously tightening the abdominal muscles. Patients can anticipate limited physical activity for ten to fourteen days following surgery. We typically tell our patients bathroom and kitchen privileges initially with slow resumption of normal activity over the next two weeks. Patients can usually return to work in two weeks if no strenuous activity or heavy lifting is involved. After six weeks, they can resume all their normal activities including heavy lifting.
 

Patients typically wear an abdominal binder for three weeks following surgery. This minimizes swelling and increases comfort. Drains are placed at the time of surgery and are usually removed within two weeks of surgery. Pain management is extremely important, especially when the abdominal muscles are tightened. Most patients are initially given narcotic pain relievers and switched to double strength Tylenol five to seven days following surgery.

Patients with small children should have assistance with childcare for at least one week and patients should not drive while taking narcotics.

For many patients, abdominoplasty is a life-changing experience. After unsuccessful dieting and exercise programs, this procedure results in dramatic changes in self-esteem, self-confidence, and self-image.

What is a Mommy Makeover Surgery?

The mommy makeover is one of the most popular operations performed by plastic surgeons. The procedure is a combination of cosmetic breast surgery, liposuction, and abdominoplasty (tummy tuck). It has been designed to correct changes that occur normally with pregnancy.

During pregnancy and breast-feeding, the breasts typically increase in size. After pregnancy and breast-feeding, a variety of scenarios may occur. In some cases, the breasts may not return to their previous sizes. In this situation, a breast reduction may be necessary. In other cases, the breasts will shrink to their previous sizes, causing excess, saggy skin that may require a breast lift. Some patients will lose volume and require a breast augmentation, while others will have sag and volume loss and require a breast augmentation and breast lift. 

The abdominal wall is also affected. It becomes stretched and there is usually redundant, saggy skin, stretch marks, and weakened muscles. This will require abdominoplasty, mini abdominoplasty, or abdominal wall liposuction. Women also frequently note an increase in fat accumulation in their hips and thighs—these patients will typically require liposuction. 

There are multiple advantages in performing these procedures in combination. These include an improved overall result, lowered cost, and single recovery. Patients typically report increased self-esteem, self-image, and an overall improvement in the quality of their lives. For these reasons, the mommy makeover is one of the most popular operations that is currently performed in plastic surgery.

Are You A Candidate for Tummy Tuck Surgery? - Watch Dr. John Edney's Video to Find Out

Watch Dr. Edney answer all of the questions you may have regarding Tummy Tuck surgery in his detailed video. In this video, he explains how the procedure is performed, what the recovery period is like, what the benefits are, and the differences between Tummy Tuck and Mini Tummy Tuck.