Almost everyone has heard of a “mommy makeover” procedure, even if you don’t know anything about it. The plastic surgery procedure is aimed at women who are interested in getting their pre-pregnancy body back, whether that be by repairing stretched abdominal muscles, removing stretched skin or lifting/augmenting breasts.
Dr. Lou Bucky of Philadelphia finds the procedure to be better than it ever has been when considering all of the new options for patients. As for the catchy name? “The term mommy makeover is interesting, because usually trendy terms go away, but mommy makeover is a keeper!”
By Louis P. Bucky, MD
and Adam McMillon
ThePlasticSurgeryChannel.com
Calling all mommies
For all of the women struggling to accept the way their bodies have aged after multiple pregnancies, there is hope! The modern mommy makeover procedure offers a tremendous amount of options that can be custom tailored to a woman’s unique anatomy. “The best patients are often women who’ve had kids who just can’t get comfortable with their new bodies after having children and want to get back to some sort of aesthetic but functional appearance,” says Dr. Bucky. “Like anything in plastic surgery, we have a lot of good choices. We can individualize a treatment plan for patients, and the mommy makeover procedure is a great example of that.”
The abdomen and the breasts
Obviously the abdomen goes through some severe fluctuations while pregnant, changes that are made worse by one or multiple pregnancies. Besides the abdomen, breasts are often hit hard by the bodily changes and can leave a woman feeling less firm. The good news is both of these problems can be treated in many different ways “If we just separate the changes that happen to the breast from the changes that happen to the belly, and the treatments that exist for both, there are a lot of choices,” says Bucky.
“The solutions are potentially breast lifts, breast augmentation for the patients whose breasts have deflated, or a combination of breast lift with an augmentation. Even within that group, there are patients who want their breasts to be filled and lifted but not be a whole lot bigger. A great new opportunity for them is utilizing large volume fat grafting, where a woman can avoid having an implant and get great shape that’s customized to her body. Where does the fat come from? Often times it comes from their abdomen or hip area that has become a problem for them as well! We can remove fat from the abdomen or hip region and use it to refill breast volume, all without using an implant.”
“With regards to the belly, we also have many good options. From a tummy tuck that repairs the muscle that separated after child birth to a standard abdominoplasty that takes care of a lot of the extra skin, skin that’s often associated with stretch marks. We can also do limited incision tummy tucks for patients whose muscles are just stretched. Now we even have the opportunity to improve abdominal fat without surgery with the use of CoolSculpting, where we can tailor and modify fatty tissue in a gradual way that doesn’t require going to the OR.”
Woman just want to look their best
At the end of the day, many different women have a unique problem associated with past pregnancies. They want a fix. The options available are robust, allowing each patient to have a procedure tailored to their individual issues.
“I think there is a significant group of patients who want to be able to still look good in a bathing suit, in their gym clothes, naked and in fine-knit clothes as well,” says Bucky. “We have operations that we can tailor for them to be effective and customized based on their recovery while delivering an operation that allows them to get back to their family quicker. Those choices really lead to a more effective outcome and process for women who need it.”