What is a mommy makeover?
The woman’s body goes through many changes because of pregnancy and childbirth. The tissue stretching and hormonal changes shape the body, and these changes aren’t always fully temporary. Recurring pregnancies lead to bigger change, and can overwhelm and burden the woman physically, mentally, and socially.
The term mommy makeover is used when the aim is to restore a woman’s body to its pre-pregnancy shape by surgical operations.
Many techniques shaping the breasts (reduction, lift, augmentation) as well as the body (abdominoplasty, diastasis recti surgery, liposuction, fat grafting) can be done together in the operation.
The procedure can be done at once or be split into few operations, depending on its size.
Abdominoplasty
Stretched skin, resulting from being overweight or pregnancy, doesn’t always return to its original condition. Instead, it might create skin folds that may disturb activity and hygiene. The skin bags and is trapped on top of the stomach, and the tissues don’t return despite activity.
The procedure
In the procedure, excess skin is tightened through an opening created on the lower stomach area. The skin folds are straightened, tissues tightened, and the excess skin fold is removed.
A new hole needs to be done for the navel, and besides the vertical scar on the lower stomach, the procedure leaves a scar on the navel as well.
Abdominoplasty is very common. It can be done together with rectus diastasis (procedure to correct separation of abdominal muscles) or liposuction. The best results can be expected when the client is satisfied with their weight and big changes in weight will not occur afterwards.
Correcting diastasis recti
The muscle membrane surrounding abdominal muscles may stretch as the stomach increases in size during pregnancy or weight gain. However, a stretched muscle membrane doesn’t always return to its previous state. Instead, the abdominal wall loses its shape, and the stomach stays increased in size. Regaining good posture is difficult despite regular activity.
The looseness of the muscle membrane, and the loss of muscle support in the abdominal wall caused by it, cause the back to be arched, possibly leading to pressure in the back area. Even though the procedure strives for a beautiful result, it isn’t an aesthetic procedure.
The looseness of the muscle membrane can be evaluated during a consultation with a plastic surgeon. Observations made by a plastic surgeon support a diagnosis.
In diastasis rectus surgery, the muscle membrane that has stretched from the middle is sown back together. This way, the muscles are placed closer again.
The procedure
In diastasis rectus surgery, the muscle membrane that has stretched from the middle is sown back together. This way, the muscles are placed closer again.
Other procedures, for example, correcting the shape of the stomach and removing excess tissue, are often done simultaneously together with this surgery (abdominoplasty, mini abdominoplasty, liposuction).
When the muscle membrane heals into a firm position, the support of the stomach and good posture return.
Breast lift surgery
Breasts may lose shape and begin to droop because of pregnancy, breastfeeding, weight loss, or aging. Because of drooping, the skin on the breasts stretches, breast tissue is located lower on the chest, the location of the nipples change, and the areolas may stretch undesirably.
Breast lift surgery is an effective way to return the shape of the breasts and enhance the natural balanced look of the body. Breast lift surgery can be performed as an individual procedure or simultaneously with breast augmentation surgery (implants, fat grafting).
The procedure
In the procedure, excess skin is removed from the breast, breast tissue is reshaped, and the nipple is elevated if necessary. The areola may be reduced during as well. The shape of the breasts is made beautiful, and their location on the chest is elevated again.
The shape of the scar depends on the amount of skin removed.
Breast reduction
After pregnancy, the breasts can be large and heavy. The symptoms of the neck and shoulder area can be helped through breast reduction surgery.
The procedure
Breast reduction surgery is an operation in which skin on the breasts and breast tissue are removed surgically. The tissue left is reshaped to achieve a beautiful result. The nipple areola complex may be repositioned and the size of it can be reduced if desired.
After the surgery, the shape of the breasts is enhanced in the beginning, and the breasts are located high on the chest. The result, however, will appear in a few months as the breasts lower to a more natural level because of gravity.
Even though the surgical result is permanent, aging and weight gain and loss may still affect the breast size and shape with time.
Scars
The procedure always leaves scars. The scar is located around the areola and continues down until the breast fold.
The eventual size and quality of the scars depend on the starting point.
Breast augmentation
The breasts can be enlarged with implants or fat grafting. The size is chosen together with you, considering your body and tissue specifically. The breasts are shaped beautifully, and a breast lift can be done if desired.
Fat grafting
Fat grafting is done by removing excess body fat from a desired area in your own body and transferring it into your breasts. Around 50-80% of the fat transferred into the breast settles permanently; therefore, the volume should be slightly overdone. Fat grafting provides soft, very natural, and lasting results.
Implants
The breast size can be increased with breast implants. The size and other traits of the breast implants are decided together with you, considering your individual situation. However, it is good to note that the procedure must be redone in the future when the implants are too old.
