| Dr. York Yates is a plastic surgeon certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery. Here the Doctor has answered some of the common questions bizymoms visitors have about Mommy Makeover.
Q. What is a Mommy Makeover?
A. "Mommy makeover" is cosmetic surgery with the goal of restoring and improving a woman's body after pregnancy. Pregnancy can cause loss of breast volume and loss of breast shape as well as loose abdominal skin, abdominal muscle separation and stretch marks. Generally a mommy makeover includes some combination of breast enhancement (breast lift or breast augmentation), abdominal rejuvenation (tummy tuck) and liposuction.
Q. Who is a good candidate for Mommy Makeover?
A. The best candidates are near their ideal body weight and done having children. If a patient is still carrying a lot of their "baby weight" I would recommend weight loss to achieve optimal results. The ideal abdominoplasty candidate has loose skin and stretch marks of the lower abdomen, which is the abdominal skin that is removed. The ideal breast augmentation patient has disproportionately small or deflated breasts but with an attractive shape otherwise. If there is a significant amount of breast droop a breast lift will likely be necessary for optimal results.
Q. What are the important facts about the safety and risks of the Mommy Makeover?
A. The most important consideration regarding safety is choosing an experienced surgeon who puts the patient’s safety first. Choosing a board certified plastic surgeon assures proper training, experience, ethical standards and safety standards. For financial gain, there are many non-plastic surgeons doing these procedures. It is unfortunate but there is often no disclosure that they are not plastic surgeons, simply listing themselves as "board certified". The American Board of Plastic Surgery is the only board that certifies plastic surgeons and an informed patient should verify the board status of their surgeon.
Q. What happens during the Mommy Makeover surgery?
A. The procedure can be done with the patient sedated or under general anesthesia depending on the patient and surgeon's choice. My preference is a deep sedation with expertly placed local anesthetic. This eliminates the need, costs and risks of general anesthesia while allowing a more comfortable recovery for the patient. This is certainly more difficult for the surgeon but well worth it in my opinion. In my practice, a breast augmentation and mini-abdominoplasty can often be performed in the same operation. If a full abdominoplasty is performed I often choose to do it a couple of days after the breast procedure so that the procedures can be safely and effectively done under deep sedation without general anesthesia. The procedures can easily be performed together under general anesthesia but in my opinion is often not in the patient’s best interests regarding costs and safety.
Q. What are the Options for the Mommy Makeover?
A. Breast enhancement options include a breast lift for droopy breast, breast augmentation for deflated breasts or less commonly breast reduction for large and droopy breasts. The scar is generally very small for breast augmentation alone but much more extensive and visible for a breast lift or breast reduction. The options for the abdomen include liposuction, a mini tummy tuck, and a full tummy tuck. Liposuction can address multiple areas including the abdomen and waist. The best candidates for liposuction alone have very little loose skin. Most mommy makeover patients have at least some degree of excess abdominal skin, stretch marks and loose abdominal muscles. A mini abdominoplasty addresses the skin, fat and muscle below the belly button and a full abdominoplasty addresses the entire abdomen. Excess skin and stretch marks are removed and the muscles are tightened. In a full abdomminoplasty, a new belly button is created.
Q. What is the recovery time for Mommy Makeover?
A. Generally about 1 week for desk work, 3 weeks for light exercise and 6 weeks for unrestricted exercise.
Q. How much will the Mommy Makeover cost?
A. As is true with cosmetic surgery in general the cost of a mommy makeover can vary considerably from surgeon to surgeon. The general fees include facility fees, surgeon's fees and anesthesia fees. Many surgeons such as myself have in office operating suites saving the patient considerably on the facility fees. The surgeon’s fees vary depending on the experience of the surgeon, demand, and location of the plastic surgeon. In Utah, fees are quite inexpensive relative to many parts of the country. As of 2009, breast augmentation in my practice is $4100 for saline implants and $5200 for silicone implants. My fee for abdominoplasty is around $5600 for a full abdominoplasty and $3200 for a mini abdominoplasty.
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