Here is a 6-month postoperative photo from a recent Mommy Makeover surgery which included a Tummy Tuck. It is an amazing transformation for our patient who worked really hard after pregnancy to lose the extra weight and improve her appearance. Her main complaint after pregnancy was the appearance of her belly. She lost a lot of weight after pregnancy and she was left with loose skin and resistant fat around her belly and waist. For many moms, there is only so much improvement you can achieve with diet and exercise. This surgery helped our patient cross over the finish line after she made a lot of positive changes in her life.
Even though the changes a body makes to accommodate a growing baby are remarkable, some of these changes are often permanent. Rarely does your body bounce back to pre-baby form. There is a long list of issues that can persist:
- Resistant pockets of fat in different areas
- Hanging and/or deflated breasts
- Extra fat, skin, and stretch marks along the belly/waist
- Stretched out abdominal muscles
But few surgeries are as transformative as a Mommy Makeover. With only one surgery and recovery you can address every issue, including:
- Pesky pockets of fat in any location with liposuction and BodyTite or FaceTite
- Deflated, hanging, and large breast with an augmentation, lift, or reduction that improves the size, shape, and contour
- Excess skin, fat, and stretch marks on your belly, back, legs, and arms with many different procedures
- Stretched out abdominal muscles with a tummy tuck
The time of surgery can vary depending on the problems being addressed. In most cases, a Mommy Makeover takes between two to six hours to complete. Almost all the surgeries are completed in the operating room setting. Surgery time is decreased with the lesser invasive options, especially BodyTite. For example, a breast procedure combined with liposuction and BodyTite of the belly is much quicker than when it is combined with a Tummy Tuck.
Recovery times vary from person to person but in general, it takes up to 1 week to get back on your feet and return to non-physical work duties, around 2 to 3 weeks to return to normal daily activities 6 to 8 weeks to return to your normal workout schedule. Discomfort after this surgery varies greatly depending on the type of procedures that are included. In general, breast augmentation surgery will have the most immediate discomfort and then improve quickly. A tummy tuck will have longer-lasting discomfort, especially if there is a split muscle repair (aka rectus diastasis repair). Surprisingly, liposuction has the longest-lasting discomfort and it can be sore to the touch for weeks to months. Fortunately, we have many tricks to help you feel more comfortable during recovery. This includes the use of local anesthesia during surgery and pain medications, muscle relaxants, and compression garments after surgery.
Watch our episode on Mommy Makeovers below, or check out our Mommy Makeover page for more information.