Mommy Makeover Chicago

Get Your Body Back with a Mommy Makeover

The toll that pregnancy, childbirth and breastfeeding can have on a woman’s body can be devastating, both physically and emotionally. Even with proper diet and exercise, oftentimes it is near impossible to restore one’s post-pregnancy body back to one’s pre-pregnancy body.

Some of these effects include:

Stretching of the stomach muscles
Stretching and loosening of the skin in the areas of the breasts, thighs, abdominals
Excess fat deposits in the belly, back and thighs
Stretch marks on the breasts, belly and thighs

For those mothers out there who want a firmer, tighter body, even after childbirth, there is the Mommy Makeover. This revolutionary cosmetic procedure has been developed by cosmetic surgeons with the needs and desires of mother’s everywhere in mind. Essentially, this procedure brings together the best of several popular surgical procedures to restore and rejuvenate the mother’s body back to her pre-pregnancy body, as close as possible.

What the Mommy Makeover Won’t Do

This new procedure has yielded amazing results for many mothers, but it is not a replacement for proper diet and exercise. Rather, when the Mommy Makeover is used in conjunction with a healthy diet and exercise, the results can be both amazing and long-lasting. There are some things you should consider before a Mommy Makeover, however. If you are planning on dramatic weight loss, or plan on becoming pregnant again, it would make sense to postpone the Mommy Makeover, as weight loss or pregnancy can have adverse effects on the results of the Mommy Makeover. It is recommended that you should wait at least 6 months after you stop breastfeeding before undergoing the Mommy Makeover procedure, as it will allow time for your body to heal naturally from the stress of pregnancy and childbirth. Furthermore, it allows time for the skin and muscles to ‘snap back’ as much as the will, naturally, which will only aid in the restoration of your body.

Is it right for me?

As with any cosmetic enhancement surgery, you should first consider your motivations for surgery to be sure that you’re choosing surgery for yourself and not to fulfill someone else’s’ desires or expectations of you or your body. Mothering is perhaps the most important job there is and the sacrifices made by mothers everywhere deserve respect and compassion. It is a very personal matter and any decision for surgery should come after careful consideration of all the facts and emotions involved.

The Mommy Makeover may be a good option for you if you:

Maintain good physical health and weight
Don’t smoke
Have realistic expectations
Are frustrated by the seemingly irreversible effects of childbirth and your attempts at weight loss and firming of your body with diet and exercise alone
Have stretch marks
Have sagging breasts and/or enlarged areolas

Every woman’s body is different and the needs of each women vary. A doctor can guide you along the right path in deciding which procedures will be right for you.

Options for the Mommy Makeover

The Mommy Makeover procedure is comprised of several different cosmetic procedures that, when used in conjunction, produce stunning results. However, because every woman has different restorative needs, the combination of procedures will vary from one body to another. The Mommy Makeover is not a ‘cookie cutter’ procedure, but one that can be tailored to meet your individual needs, which is one reason why the Mommy Makeover procedure is so revolutionary in its design.

Tummy Tuck or abdominoplasty with Liposuction

The skin and muscle tissues in the abdominal areas stretch during pregnancy and will leave skin looser and "flabby." Even after weight loss, training and dieting, the skin may remain loose and unsightly. An abdominoplasty, also known as a Tummy Tuck, can revitalize your stomach and abdominal area by removing excess skin, tightening the inner walls of your stomach muscles, and removing unwanted fatty deposits through liposuction, producing a tighter, flatter abdominal profile. The use of liposuction during the Tummy Tuck portion of the Mommy Makeover allows for the removal of excess fat that develops during pregnancy as well as handle the stubborn areas that don’t respond to dieting and exercise.

Breast Lift, Breast Augmentation, and Reduction

The procedure known as mastopexy, or the ‘Breast Lift’ reconstructs the breast in such a way that excess fat and skin is removed, thus tightening the tissues of the breast, giving it a ‘lifted’ appearance, which restores the breast appearance back to that of your pre-pregnancy, youthful breast contours. The mastopexy will also address the tissue surrounding the nipple, or areola, which oftentimes becomes stretched due to the same effects.

If you desire fuller, larger breasts, the surgeon can perform a Breast Augmentation along with the lift. This cosmetic enhancement procedure uses either saline or silicone breast implants to create a bust line that is, perhaps, larger and fuller than the patients’ pre-pregnancy breast size. Once again, the option of Breast Augmentation should be discussed with your doctor in your consultation prior to surgery to determine the best course of treatment.

The Breast Reduction surgery can be an option for those women who have very large breast that cause back pain and general discomfort due to childbirth or as a pre-pregnancy condition. The reduction mammaplasty is a procedure designed to reduce the size of the breasts by removing the excess skin, fat and tissues of the breast, alleviating any pain or discomfort.

What to expect during your consultation

In order to create the best possible results from your Mommy Makeover surgery, it is important that your surgeon consult with you to discuss your desires and expectations, as well as how the Mommy Makeover surgery will impact your health, lifestyle and general well-being. It is a good idea to prepare by considering the following before your consultation:

General medical history, including the results of laboratory work and past surgeries
A detailed account of current prescription medications, supplements (vitamins or others) that you take
Any use of tobacco or other drugs
What are your motivations for surgery? What are your expectations?

At the consultation, your surgeon will also:

Evaluate your current health
Photographically document your body, for before and after comparisons
Based on the information gathered, your surgeon will discuss your surgical options and recommend a course of treatment
Disclose the risk of common complications associated with the Mommy Makeover surgery and the use of anesthesia
Cover what to do the day of surgery
Cover post-operative care and recovery

Preparing for surgery

In the weeks before surgery, your surgeon may request:

Further laboratory testing or medical evaluations
Adjusting current prescriptions
That you avoid the consumption of alcohol, drugs and abstain from smoking for a certain period surrounding surgery

Finally, your surgeon will go over the options you may have regarding the location of your surgery. Typically, the Mommy Makeover procedure is performed in an accredited surgical center, outpatient ambulatory surgical center or a hospital.

Important facts about the safety and risks of the Mommy Makeover

Ultimately, the decision to undergo the Mommy Makeover procedure is yours alone. After careful consideration of both the risks and benefits of surgery, you’ll have to weigh the risks against the potential benefits to make an informed decision that you can live with. Your health care professional will go over all potential risks of surgery and will make themselves available to answer any and all of your questions.

Here is a listing of some of the risks associated with the Mommy Makeover surgery:

Adverse scarring
Excessive bleeding (hematoma)
Infection
Complications associated with scar healing, including pain associated with surgery
Fluids aggregation
Necrosis, or fatty tissues deep within the affected area may die Leg swelling that won’t go away
Skin loosening persists
Potential risks of anesthesia use
Blood clots

What happens during the Mommy Makeover surgery?

Anesthesia

Depending on your individual circumstances, your doctor will suggest either intravenous or general anesthesia.

The Incisions

Tummy Tuck or abdominoplasty with Liposuction

Surgeons today have almost perfected the art of the abdominoplasty incision, so that scarring is minimal and is located between the pubic hairline and the belly button where it can be covered by bathing suits or underwear. Of course, the length of the incision will be determined by your surgeon, based on the nature of your individual surgical needs. The incision itself is the portal through which the surgeon will remove excess fatty tissues and repair sagging, weak abdominal muscles. A second, smaller, vertical incision may be required between the pubic hairline and the belly button to remove excess skin left by the removal of the fatty tissue.

Liposuction incisions are small, round incisions that, with time, fade to become almost unnoticeable. Once the incision is made, a sterile saline solution is injected with the fatty deposit to loosen the fat and prepare it for abstraction. Then the fat is sucked out of the body with a surgical vacuum in a methodical back and forth motion, through a thin tube called a cannula.

Breast Lift, Breast Augmentation, and Reduction

Three options for locations of incisions:

Circumference of the areola
Circumference of the areola and straight down from the bottom of the areola to the breast crease
Circumference of the areola, straight down from the breast crease and horizontally along the breast crease

Reshaping your breasts

Let the reshaping begin! The process is tailored to every individual’s needs, however these steps are common to most breast lift surgeries:

The breast tissue beneath the skin is lifted and reshaped
Any excess skin is removed to tighten the skin around the breast
The nipple and areola are repositioned to match the proportion and scale of the newly reconstructed breast

Closing the incisions

The Mommy Makeover surgery can be performed in either one or two surgeries, each one ranging in time from either 3 to 6 hours. Once the procedures have been completed, the incisions are closed with with a combination of layered sutures, clips and surgical tape.

See the Results

The immediate results are oftentimes difficult to see through the swelling and discoloration caused by the procedures themselves. However, within a week or two you’ll be fully ambulatory, able to stand-up straight and appreciate the new, slimmer, tighter you!

Be careful

After any surgery, it is important to closely monitor how you feel, especially directly after surgery. Varying degrees of pain are certainly to be expected, however, if you experience any kind of tightness or shortness of breath, pains deep in your chest or an irregular heart beat you should go to the doctor immediately. To avoid complications, it is of paramount importance that you strictly follow your doctor’s post-surgical instructions and be careful!

My recovery

To maintain shape and pressure, special bandages will be used which will control swelling in the affected areas. Temporary drainage tubes may also be used which will allow for drainage of excess blood or fluid.

Here are some important questions to ask your doctor before surgery:

Where will I recover directly after surgery?
Will I be prescribed any post-surgery medications?
How often do my bandages need to be changed and when will they be removed permanently?
When will the drain tubes be removed (when appropriate)?
How soon will I need to return for a follow-up visit?

The results will be long-lasting

While some results will be visible immediately, your body will continue to heal and as the swelling subsides, it will continue to unfold a more contoured, shapely body that can be maintained through use of proper diet and exercise. It is important to understand that by following your doctor’s post-operative instructions thoroughly and maintaining a healthy lifestyle, you can determine the quality of the results of your liposuction surgery, to some degree.

How much will the Mommy Makeover cost?

Cost depends on many varying factors, including the experience of the surgeon and the geographic location of the procedure. Be sure to interview several surgeons when doing your research so you can get a clear picture of your options. Oftentimes, higher cost is not indicative of higher quality; but, it can also be said that you get what you pay for. Shop around and do your homework.

Costs you can expect to incur:

Surgeon’s fee
Facility fee
Anesthesiologist
Medications
Laboratory tests

In addition, many plastic surgeons offer their own patient financing plans, so be sure to ask your doctor!