A mommy makeover combines different surgical and non-surgical procedures and techniques to treat the appearance of your abdomen, breasts, and skin for improved self-image. It is designed to address changes in your abdominal contour, breast shape and size, and overall silhouette caused by pregnancy, delivery, and breastfeeding.
Depending on your specific needs, you may choose to combine procedures such as an abdominoplasty (tummy tuck), breast augmentation, or mastopexy (breast lift) with liposuction and laser skin treatments that reduce stretch marks.
When you have a good idea of what you’d like to improve about your abdomen, breasts, and skin, Dr. Luis Macias, a double board-certified plastic surgeon and mommy makeover extraordinaire, will be able to provide you a tailored treatment plan.
How to Prepare for a Mommy Makeover
In order to have a successful mommy makeover, you should prepare both physically and mentally for the procedure. By preparing early, you will ensure that there are no surprises and every detail is taken care of, allowing for the safest surgery and best aesthetic outcome possible.
The following information is designed to help guide you through the preoperative period. If you have any other questions or concerns, we would be happy to answer them so please feel free to contact us by phone or through our online contact form.
Time Heals—Ensuring Your Body is Ready for Surgery
The first step toward preparation is to establish realistic goals based on your current fitness and health status. Your body needs time to recover from the effects of pregnancy, and it may take longer than you think. Most women undergo a mommy makeover well after they have finished breastfeeding.
Eating Habits
As you prepare mentally and physically for surgery, it is important that you continue (or develop) a healthy lifestyle. This typically includes eating well-balanced meals and avoiding unnecessary stress. To ensure the best results, avoid any form of intense weight loss or extreme dieting, such as a protein-powder-only or liquid-only diet. It is also important that you eat a high-protein diet three weeks prior to surgery.
Exercise
Exercise before plastic surgery should be done gently, but regularly with an emphasis on total body fitness, flexibility, and general strengthening of muscles. Pregnancy is often a time of intense stress, which can leave you with excess abdominal fat around your organs. Exercise helps to relieve this pressure and assists in building muscle tone for improved posture.
Establishing a good exercise program before surgery is essential because it maintains muscle tone during healing and improves the elasticity of your skin after surgery. In addition, it gives you the opportunity to establish healthy routines in preparation for a possible future pregnancy.
Plan for Rest and Recovery
Surgery places stress on all aspects of your body, so give yourself plenty of time to complete a full recovery. The healing process may be delayed or complicated by factors such as a previous history of abdominal surgery, smoking, and alcohol consumption. You should expect to need 6 weeks after surgery in order to return to your normal routine. It is during this period that you will see the greatest improvement in your appearance and self-image.
Understand the Possible Risks
Surgery is a stressful event that may lead to an imbalance of your body’s natural hormones. For this reason, it is important that you understand the possible risks involved in undergoing plastic surgery. These include infection, bleeding, and scarring (including keloids), which can be minimized by following your plastic surgeon’s instructions and seeing only a board-certified plastic surgeon.
Another important risk is blood clots in the legs or lungs, which may lead to a pulmonary embolism (blood clot in the lung). This is more common among patients who smoke, have prolonged air flights, and/or immobilization after surgery. To minimize these risks, your plastic surgeon will advise you on ways to avoid these problems.
Seek Out a Board-Certified Plastic Surgeon
The importance of choosing a board-certified plastic surgeon can not be overstated. Choose a surgeon you feel comfortable with sharing your most intimate aesthetic concerns. Choose a surgeon whose prices are in alignment with national averages, and never based on deep discounts, purely as a matter of your own safety.
The expertise of your surgeon is essential to achieving the best overall results. It may be the most important factor since it is under your surgeon’s care that you are placing your precious body. Your results depend heavily upon his or her expertise.
Please feel free to reach out with any questions you may have or to schedule an appointment with double board-certified plastic surgeon, Dr. Luis Macias.
