What's involved with a 'Mommy Makeover'?
A ‘mommy makeover’ is a term that involves combining both an abdominoplasty with a breast procedure such as a breast lift, or breast augmentation or mastopexy-augmentation. This combined surgery helps to address the abdominal skin laxity and rectus diastasis from pregnancy, as well as the post-partum breast descent and/or deflation that commonly occurs after pregnancy and breast-feeding.
Women who have been pregnant, or those individuals who have lost a significant amount of weight frequently develop excess loose skin and fat of the lower abdomen and the breasts that simply does not disappear with diet and exercise, despite even the best efforts to get rid of it. This is because of a process called ’tissue expansion’ in which the skin, fat, and abdominal muscles have stretched out and then after becoming deflated later on, the stretched out loose tissue is unable to return to its previous contour. Many times, patients will have wrinkled skin, stretch marks, and extra skin and fat that can easily be pinched.
When the rectus muscles have separated there is often weakness of the abdominal wall causing significant bulging, such that even smaller patients may appear to have a ‘bulging belly.’ The rectus diastasis repair that is done in conjunction with the abdominoplasty helps to greatly improve this problem. Many women find their breasts have also deflated after the hormonal effects of pregnancy and wish to have their pre-pregnancy breast volume back.
A mommy makeover can dramatically improve your self-esteem and make you feel more confident about your body. Many mothers want to be able to get their pre-pregnancy abdomen and breasts back. Dr. Sharma will sit down with you to discuss your goals for the surgery and review in detail how the procedure is performed to get you the look you deserve.
Incisions are typically placed along the lower part of the abdomen where a C-section scar is typically found. The scar extends from hip to hip. The scar line is place low down and can be well hidden when wearing underwear or a swimsuit. There is also a scar around the belly button, since it is re-positioned after removing the excess loose tissue. The breast incisions will depend on the type of mastopexy that is being planned, or alternatively a breast augmentation to help restore the volume. Sometimes a combination of these procedures is done to help address all of the concerns. Dr. Sharma will discuss the pros and cons of the various procedures and develop a treatment plan that best suits your individual needs.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Am I a Good Candidate?
Good candidates for this procedure are women who:
- are self-conscious about the appearance of their abdomen and breasts and wish to improve their shape and figure
- may be embarrassed to wear certain types of clothing or a bathing suit that reveals excess abdominal skin and deflated breasts
- are physically healthy to undergo surgery, do not smoke, and have realistic expectations
- may wish to increase their breast size or reduce the excess skin envelop, or combination of the two
- have unwanted stretch marks, skin indentations, wrinkles, rolls, bulging, C-section scars, other surgical scars, or tattoos on the abdomen that they wish to have removed
- are at a stable weight and do not have any further plans for significant weight loss or gain
- are not planning to have any further pregnancies
- are tired of being unable to get rid of the excess tissue by diet and exercise
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What are the important considerations?
There are a variety of factors that go into making a decision about a combined tummy tuck and breast procedure. There are several options that can be done to meet your needs. Dr. Sharma will discuss your options with you in order to get you your desired look. Sometimes liposuction may be combined with a tummy tuck procedure to remove unwanted fat around the waistline, hips, and flanks, in order to get the look you want. Breast implants or fat grafting may be discussed as options to improve the volume to the breasts if desired. It is important to remember that a tummy tuck is not a substitute for weight loss and a healthy diet and lifestyle.
Patients are often extremely happy with their results after a mommy makeover, since this operation has the ability to dramatically improve one’s shape and figure, with a flatter more toned look to the abdomen, and removal of the extra sagging tissue, and improve proportions with added breast volume and a perkier breast shape.
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