What Procedures Does A Mommy Makeover Include? Information From A Dallas / Ft. Worth Plastic Surgeon

Southlake Plastic Surgery

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What Procedures Does A Mommy Makeover Include? Information From A Dallas / Ft. Worth Plastic Surgeon

Bearing and birthing a child is probably the most difficult thing a woman’s body can go through. The skin expands and stretches during pregnancy, and even after delivery, breastfeeding causes the breasts to inflate and deflate, both of which leave many women out of their pre-pregnancy shape.

While researching plastic surgery options, you may have found the term Mommy Makeover. A Mommy Makeover is a combination of procedures designed to restore and rejuvenate a woman after her body has undergone the strain of childbearing. Pregnancy, delivery, and breastfeeding create unique problems for each woman, so your Mommy Makeover procedure will be unique depending on your specific needs.

At Southlake Plastic Surgery, our Dallas / Ft. Worth plastic surgeons perform hundreds of procedures each year, including Mommy Makeovers for women who want to feel confident and comfortable in their post-children bodies.

Keep reading to learn about which procedures we commonly perform for a Mommy Makeover and more from a renowned Dallas & Ft. Worth plastic surgeon!

What procedures can a Mommy Makeover include?

Just as every woman’s journey through childbearing, delivery, and breastfeeding is unique, so too are their Mommy Makeovers. 

Though no two patients are exactly alike, here are the procedures we most commonly perform as part of a Mommy Makeover:

Breast augmentation

Many women experience deflated or sagging breasts after the effects of pregnancy, breastfeeding, and gravity set in. A breast augmentation procedure helps restore youthfulness and volume to the breasts, usually with silicone gel or saline implants. Fat grafting, or injecting some of your own body fat into the breast area to increase volume, may be an appropriate option as well. 

Read our breast implant guide→

To perform a breast augmentation with implants, our Dallas plastic surgeons make an incision, lift the breast tissue, then create a pocket in the chest/breast area to insert the saline or silicone gel implant.

They place the implant in a pocket underneath the pectoral muscle, which is located between the breast tissue and chest wall, or underneath the breast tissue and on top of the pectoral muscle. 

Breast implants are designed to last for at least 10 years, and many women are thrilled with their implants for even longer. 

Note: Breast implants alone do not address sagging or drooping. Keep reading for a popular add-on procedure!

Breast lift

If you’re happy with the size of your breasts but not with their height, a breast lift may be in order. Many women do not realize that breast implants do not address sagging skin. Therefore, they may also require a breast lift to create the ideal silhouette they’re after. 

A breast lift, or mastopexy, treats sagging and uneven breasts, decreased breast volume, drooping nipples, and stretched areolas, returning a youthful shape and lift to your breasts. Though we can perform it alone, a breast lift surgery goes well with breast augmentations or breast reductions to replace the fullness and completely rejuvenate your post-children breasts. 

To perform this procedure, your Dallas plastic surgeon at Southlake Plastic Surgery makes the appropriate incisions for your goals. Then Dr. Mason or Dr. Wan repositions the nipples, reshapes the breast tissue, and surgically removes excess skin. We can also make areolas smaller, if desired.

Tummy tuck

During pregnancy, especially with more than one child, most women develop stretch marks on their stomach. Additionally, the skin might have stretched so much that it’s very loose and sags.

A “flabby” or protruding abdomen results from fat, poor skin elasticity, excess skin, and stretching of the inner “girdle” of connective tissue and abdominal muscles extending from the ribs to the pubic bone. This inner girdle, which holds the internal organs in place, gets stretched during pregnancy (or weight gain), and the stomach protrudes as the stomach muscles (abdominis recti) separate.

A tummy tuck, or abdominoplasty, removes loose excess skin and fat and tightens the stomach muscles. This removes stretch marks and excess skin in the lower abdomen below the belly button. We may be able to remove stretch marks depending on where the incision is placed and how much loose tissue is removed.

Many women choose to pair their tummy tuck with liposuction to address excess fat deposits that accumulated during pregnancy and with age. Adding liposuction to a tummy tuck helps restore the hourglass curves in the flank area to address concerns about your post belly figure. 

Liposuction

Besides pairing well with a tummy tuck, liposuction fat removal can also remove excess fat in other areas commonly affected by pregnancy or weight fluctuations. When you add liposuction to your Mommy Makeover, we can treat your flanks, hips, chest, thighs, neck, upper arms, or knees! 

Many know what liposuction is but do not fully understand how it works. During a liposuction procedure, your surgeon makes a small incision to insert a cannula (a thin tube) to the treatment area that then sucks out the fat. The Dallas plastic surgeons at Southlake commonly use the SAFE Lipo method. This technique sculpts the treatment area by removing fat while equalizing the thin layer of fat just below the skin. This improves the chances of having a smooth, even contour of the skin’s surface after healing.

Your surgeon may also use the VASER liposuction technique. This method involves treating fat cells with ultrasonic waves before the cannula suction removes them. This technique is best for certain areas of the body where the fat is very dense and difficult to remove, like the flanks or back. 

How do I plan for Mommy Makeover surgery?

 

When it comes to a Mommy Makeover, it’s important to get the timing right. And we’re not just talking about the time of year, either. There are several other factors and questions you should ask that can help you determine the right time to take the Mommy Makeover plunge. 

How plastic surgery works→

When is the best time to have a Mommy Makeover?

In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, there has never been a better time to undergo some procedures to address your concerns and help you live a happier, fuller life. 

With more people working from home and social distancing, you can get in, get out, and recover without having to take excessive time off work (depending on your job, of course) or people guessing that you’re “having work done.” Plus, they can’t see your bandages or compression garments on Zoom!

Outside of the pandemic, you should consider your (and your family’s) schedule. If you care for young, dependent children, you need to consider when your spouse, partner, or a family member can afford to take several days off to care for you and the kids. We will instruct you not to lift anything over 10 pounds for at least 6 weeks or until your plastic surgeon clears you to resume all normal activities. 

If you’re an on-the-go mom constantly carpooling and shuttling kids to activities, you will probably want to wait until the off-season or make sure the caretaker (or your 16-year-old) doesn’t mind taking over these duties until you’re off pain medication and are cleared to drive. 

We can perform the surgery any time of year, but make sure it works best for your schedule and lifestyle to make the process as smooth as possible. Since full recovery may take 4-6 weeks depending on the number of procedures, plan accordingly before any big events or trips. 

How much does a Mommy Makeover cost?

No two Mommy Makeovers are the same. This is a highly specialized combination of procedures to the individual, and the total cost of the surgery can vary widely. 

Your surgeon cannot provide an estimated cost until they have an in-depth consultation with you to consider your unique concerns, goals, risks, medical history, and more to determine what will work best for you. 

The obvious attraction of a Mommy Makeover is that we can perform multiple surgeries at the same time, meaning it ultimately costs less than doing these procedures individually. Regardless of your budget, you can feel confident in your decision to “bundle” these procedures knowing that you will spend less in the long run. Depending on the number of procedures as part of your Mommy Makeover, the cost can range from $8,000 to over $20,000. 

Many online resources are available to provide ballpark estimates for plastic surgery procedures in your area. Do your research to get an idea of what to be prepared to spend and remember that we do our best to work within any budget! We also work with several great financing providers

Southlake Plastic Surgery Costs→

How long does the surgery take?

 

Just like the Mommy Makeover cost, the length of surgery depends on which procedure(s) you choose. 

In general, however, our Dallas plastic surgeons prefer to keep you under general anesthesia for less than 6 hours for your safety. 

If you opt for procedures that may take longer than 6 hours, we will work with you to group the procedures into two surgeries. We require that you completely recover from the first surgery before we operate again. 

Average surgery times vary greatly from procedure to procedure, or even within the same procedure! For example, depending on the patient, a tummy tuck could take anywhere from one hour to four. 

Once we’ve established your surgical plan, you will get an idea of exactly how long a Mommy Makeover surgery takes. 

What is the recovery like?

We hate to sound repetitive, but since no two patients—or their surgical journeys—are alike, the Mommy Makeover recovery is different for everyone. 

We won’t sugarcoat it; recovering from plastic surgery can be painful and uncomfortable and may take longer than you’d like. However, it is important you follow the instructions from your plastic surgeon to a T. You must take the proper time for yourself to recover to ensure you can get right back to life with your family without complications. 

Besides saving money, another major advantage of grouping surgeries together is that you can take on all the recovery time at once, rather than several times. While everyone’s body heals at its own pace, you should plan to take 2 weeks off all activities (including work) to recover from your Mommy Makeover surgery. After this time, you will be able to ease into your normal activities while you recover. The average full recovery time is 4-6 weeks after surgery depending on how many procedures you have done. 

Your Dallas plastic surgeon at Southlake will discuss how long it will be before you can return to your normal level of activity and work. After surgery, you and your caregiver will receive detailed instructions about your postsurgical care, including information about:

  • Drains, if they have been placed
  • Normal symptoms you will experience
  • Potential signs of complications

Will I have scars?

Unfortunately, surgery comes with scars. Lucky for you, plastic surgeons—especially ones with the experience Dr. Mason and Dr. Wan have—are experts at hiding your scars in the least noticeable way. 

Even luckier for you, Southlake Plastic Surgery offers each patient a complimentary medical-grade silicone-based scar gel and instructions for use. We also schedule a free laser scar treatment in our med spa to make sure you are not left with a pigmented or raised scar. 

I’m not done having kids; should I have a Mommy Makeover yet?

 

This is a very popular question we hear at Southlake. Though you may want to schedule a Mommy Makeover right after you finish breastfeeding your first child, it’s important to carefully consider the decision. 

As long as you maintain your weight, the results of your Mommy Makeover are long lasting. Because of this plastic surgeons agree that in order to get the best long-term results from your Mommy Makeover, you should be done having children. Another pregnancy after the surgery may reverse some or all of the results of your original surgery. 

It’s also advised that women get to, or close to, their ideal weight and size before having a Mommy Makeover surgery. If you lose or gain a significant amount of weight, your skin can stretch, sag, and return you to your “before” picture. 

Are there non-surgical Mommy Makeover options?

Yes, at the Southlake Plastic Surgery Med Spa, we can help you gain back your pre-baby confidence and address your concerns with no anesthesia or surgery. 

If you’re one of those moms we talked about earlier who wanted a Mommy Makeover right after her first child, or you do not want or qualify for surgery, hope is not lost. Consider a non-surgical Mommy Makeover

Even if you decide surgery is right for you, there are a few med spa procedures moms can benefit from:

Consult with our expert Dallas plastic surgeons about your Mommy Makeover!

 

Southlake Plastic Surgery is dedicated to providing the best Mommy Makeover surgery procedures in Dallas, Ft. Worth, and surrounding areas. 

Our expert team of talented aesthetic professionals is here to help you look and feel your best. 

Additionally, our AAAASF-accredited plastic surgery center in Southlake is headed by our medical director and board-certified plastic surgeon Dr. Mark Mason. He has been helping patients for over 20 years and holds surgical privileges at several hospitals in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area. 

Contact us to learn about your options and schedule a one-on-one consultation to determine the best course of action to treat your concerns. 

We are also a fully operational med spa, offering non-surgical options with an experienced and certified team of providers for other aesthetic concerns you may have.

Use our instant consultation to tell us about your areas of concern, or schedule your first consultation today.

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