What to Expect During a Mommy Makeover Consultation

The Mommy Makeover procedure helps a woman’s need for body contouring after having babies. As we age, we lose elasticity of the skin and muscle mass. The skin starts to stretch and gravity takes effect. For women, when they age and have been pregnant, there is added stress to the body, particularly on the breasts and abdomen.

What Happens to the Breasts and Abdomen When Pregnant?

Breasts enlarge for breastfeeding and as they enlarge the skin stretches. With breastfeeding and lactation, the breasts reach a maximum size. After the child is done breastfeeding, the breasts return to their normal size.

The same thing happens with the abdomen. As the baby grows, the muscles of the abdomen expand. Sometimes, when a woman is pregnant with twins or triplets, the stretching of that skin is irreversible. This could require surgical repair.

At Ohio Plastic Surgery Specialists, we evaluate women that are done having children and they often have similar concerns about their body. The shape of their breasts have become saggy, their nipple placement has changed, and there’s loss of breast volume.

The abdomen may become loose and hang down below the beltline. The muscle can become lax. In some cases, women may experience a condition called diastasis recti where the abdomen separates in the middle. Even with diet and exercise, the abdomen cannot go back to its original condition. Some women experience stretch marks or c-section scars. All these things are addressed during the consultation for the mommy makeover.

Real Life Example of a Mommy Makeover Consultation

Last week, Dr. Bernacki evaluated a 45-year-old woman. She was in moderately good shape, five foot seven, and 165 pounds. She had 3 children and her youngest was 4 years old. She did a good job with diet and exercise and got back to her pre-pregnancy weight. But she still was not happy.

She was unhappy about the size, shape and volume of her breasts. Also, she wasn’t happy about her abdominal area despite various core exercises and a healthy diet, she couldn’t get her abdominal area to look the way she wanted it to.

In this case, the patient was happy with her D-cup breast size. Dr. Bernacki suggested that an implant was not the route to go. Instead, he recommended a reduction where he would remove excess skin from around the breast. Then reduce the size and lift the nipple. She would then be a C-cup. Dr. Bernacki would not be removing tissue, just skin. She would then have a better shape and the size of her breasts would not drastically change.

For her tummy area, she had some stretch marks from her belly button down to the waistline. She had loose skin that hung over her waist. Dr. Benacki examined her abdominal muscles and they were in the midline and she did not have any hernias. She also had a bit of excess fat in the love handle area. Dr. Bernacki’s recommendation for this patient was to perform a full tummy tuck. This procedure is an incision from hip to hip, halfway between the belly button and pubic hairline, so that all the skin is lifted off the muscle. There is also an incision all the way around the belly button. This allows the skin to be lifted up to the rib line on each side and then pull it down to remove excess tissue and sew everything back together. This surgery took about three and a half hours and she went home the same day.

To learn more about mommy makeovers or if you’re interested in a consultation, call our office to make an appointment.