Mommy Makeover
The goal is to focus on those areas that are most impacted by childbearing, including the breasts, tummy, and waistline.
Children are wonderful, but they can take a lot out of you, in more ways than one. The joys of motherhood are boundless but the effects of pregnancy on your body can sometimes be drastic. During pregnancy, your body can change in ways you never expected. Some women are lucky, and bounce right back to their pre-pregnancy status; others struggle to get close to what they looked like before having children. Pregnancy can take a toll on your bodies, affecting your breasts, tummies, legs, and more. After giving birth, many changes occur that can alter the body such as loss of volume in breasts, excess skin in the abdominal area, loss of abdominal muscle tone, weight gain, stretch marks, and more. Fortunately, there is something you can do about it: a combination of cosmetic surgeries we call the “Mommy Makeover.
The surgical options vary greatly from person to person and will depend on your personal goals. Most women choose to combine breast and body procedures such as liposuction, tummy tuck, breast augmentation, or breast lift for their Mommy Makeovers. Others are more interested in facial rejuvenation techniques such as facelift or eyelid surgery. Dr. Goyal will help you choose the appropriate treatments to meet your goals.
Tummy Tucker
A tummy tuck restores firmness to the abdomen and removes any loose skin. During the procedure, an incision is made in the bikini area (your scar, once healed, will be concealed by bathing suits and underwear) through which your plastic surgeon will tighten up the muscles. Small pockets of fat can be removed with liposuction. Once the muscles are tightened—some doctors like to make the muscles as tight as possible so that the abdomen will keep its new shape as long as possible—and the excess skin is removed. Women who have had Cesarean sections are in luck as your plastic surgeon can either use or remove that incision while performing the tummy tuck, so you will have only one scar.
Fat Removal
Most mommies have a hard time losing the last bit of “baby weight” on their hips, arms and thighs, and liposuction can remove that stubborn fat. It effectively removes fat that cannot be lost by diet or exercise. 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 naturally blends into the flattened abdomen. 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 before her pregnancy.
Breast Enhancement
Your breasts were a perfect size and shape before and during pregnancy, but after giving birth they are a sagging or have lost volume. Breast implants can easily and safely restore volume to the breasts, but only a breast lift can correct the sagging. 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 augmenting with implants or a breast lift—can restore shape and size to your breasts, even making them bigger and fuller than they were before you got pregnant. In addition to enhancing breast size, implants can also help restore pre-pregnancy firmness.
Skin Tightening and Cellulite Treatments
Skin Tightening and anti-cellulite treatment can be considered for those lucky few who just need a minor bit of tweaking, in form of some creams and laser toning. On average, the results are not permanent—maintenance sessions need to be done about once a year—and results are not predictable since not everybody responds to these types of treatment. Before embarking on surgery or even noninvasive treatments to treat cellulite, you may want to look into diet and exercise programs to get your body back on track.
Stretch Mark Removal
Stretch marks are deep tears or rips through the deep skin layers and contain scar tissue which is tough. Stretch marks (striae) are pink, red or purple indented streaks that often appear on the abdomen, breasts, upper arms, buttocks and thighs and eventually fade to white or gray. Stretch marks are particularly common in pregnant women, especially during the latter half of pregnancy. Treatment can make stretch marks fade, but it won't completely remove them. Although they may be a cosmetic concern, stretch marks are harmless and often fade over time. They don't require medical treatment. If you do seek treatment for stretch marks, know that treatments are only partially effective and won't remove the stretch marks completely.
Treatments
Tretinoin Cream
Some research has shown that tretinoin cream may improve the appearance of recent stretch marks — those that are less than a few months old and still pink or red. If you're pregnant or nursing, your doctor may opt to delay topical retinoid therapy or choose an alternative treatment. Tretinoin, when it works, helps to rebuild collagen, making the stretch mark look more like your normal skin. Tretinoin can irritate your skin. This treatment isn't effective on older stretch marks.
Microdermabrasion
This type of treatment involves a hand-held device that blows crystals onto the skin. These crystals gently abrade, or "polish," the skin's surface. Then, a vacuum tube removes the crystals and skin cells. Microdermabrasion gently removes the skin's topmost layer, prompting the growth of new, more elastic skin. This therapy is an option for older stretch marks.
Microneeding ( Dermaroller)
Dermaroller stimulates new tissue formation – it acts constructively and the skin remains intact. The skin does not get damaged (unlike other needling devices) and therefore will not go into a wound healing response. The Dermaroller stimulates new collagen fibers, improves the blood supply, and harmonizes pigmentation. It significantly improves atrophic scars & improves skin texture. Stretch marks can also be excised during a tummy tuck if they’re below the belly button they’re cut out. If they’re above the belly button they are repositioned further down on the abdomen.
Laser Therapy
Laser therapies use intense wavelengths of light to stimulate the growth of collagen, elastin, or melanin production in your skin. Your doctor can help you determine which type of laser technology is appropriate for you, depending on the age and location of your stretch marks and your skin color.
FAQ!
A woman in overall good health who completed her childbearing. Good candidates are at or near the ideal weight. A Mommy Makeover is not a weight-loss procedure, and it is most successful for women who can commit to a healthy lifestyle that includes a good diet and exercise routine.
It can be done in one or two stages, depending on how many areas need to be addressed. When performed by an experienced and qualified plastic surgeon, it is safe to have multiple procedures performed simultaneously. There are several advantages to combining several surgical procedures into a single surgery. One major advantage is price. Although the initial up-front cost of a Mommy Makeover is more than a single procedure, combining options means that some fees, such as operating room fees or anesthesia fees, need to be paid only once. If there are several surgical procedures you’d like to undergo, combining them is more affordable in the long run. Patients who combine procedures also enjoy a reduced total recovery time. Instead of several 1- or 2-week recoveries spaced several months apart, Mommy Makeover patients generally only need a single 2-week recuperation period before they can return to work and other daily activities.
Today’s surgical techniques have minimized the potential for scars, but it’s important to remember that some scarring is still an inevitable part of a surgery. Prior to your Mommy Makeover, Dr. Goyal explains where he will make incisions and what type of scarring you may expect. Most of the incisions made during a typical Mommy Makeover are well-hidden by clothing. With proper postoperative scar care and good sun protection habits, you can further minimize the appearance of scars.
Will a caesarean section or hysterectomy affect mommy makeover results?
No, the incision for the abdominoplasty is at the same level on the lower abdomen. The extra skin that hangs over their cesarean section or hysterectomy incision can be removed during abdominoplasty in order to smoothen the contour.
It mostly depends on whether your body is still changing as a result of your pregnancy. It’s important that your weight is stable, that your breasts are no longer changing. You’ll also need to have stopped breast-feeding so your doctor can get an idea of the true size and position of your breasts. Dr. Goyal advises most patients to wait about 6 months after having a child. You should also be able to commit to certain activity restrictions following surgery that some mothers of young children find difficult to stick to, such as not picking up a child for a few weeks. If you are done having children, it is safe to go ahead with a Mommy Makeover.
Most childbirth-related hernias tend to be around the umbilicus and between the rectus muscles at the midline. This area is often easily accessed during a tummy tuck, and may be prepared very conveniently during the normal tummy tuck procedure.
Can I have a mommy makeover if I plan to have more children?
Although it would be perfectly safe to have more children after your surgery, pregnancy would likely reverse some of the positive cosmetic results. If you plan to have more children in the near future, it is better to wait. If you intend to wait several years before having more children then surgery can help you enjoy your body during that long stretch of time between pregnancies. Be sure to discuss this with Dr. Goyal; he will help you form a surgical schedule that fits within your plans. Results from procedures such as a tummy tuck and breast lift will most likely be compromised if you become pregnant again. However, these procedures should not negatively affect your pregnancy or your ability to become pregnant in any way.
How much recovery time will I need?
You should expect to have bruising and swelling. The majority of the bruising and swelling will have subsided by 3 weeks after your mommy makeover but complete resolution will take at least 6 months to occur. Your recovery time will depend on the type and number of procedures performed. Typically, it’s best to set aside 10 to 14 days from work for your recovery. You will continue to improve over the next several months, and your final results should be visible after about 6 months.
A woman’s self-esteem and confidence as a mother are highly dependent on how she looks and therefore how she feels. The Mommy Makeover procedure can restore a mother’s pre-pregnancy figure creating a more rejuvenated look. To maintain the results of this procedure, women must live a healthy lifestyle consisting of regular exercise and healthy eating habits.
Dr. Goyal is highly experienced in creating beautiful figures through the Mommy Makeover procedure.