Mummy makeover surgery is an umbrella term for procedures carried out to counteract the lasting effects of pregnancy and breast-feeding on a woman’s body and breasts. It usually consists of breast and abdominal surgery to enhance and reshape the areas but can include other surgery such as labiaplasty and facial rejuvenation treatments as well.
During pregnancy as the baby develops, your abdomen (tummy) is stretched, and your breasts will enlarge as lactation develops. Breast changes continue during breast-feeding as well. After pregnancy, your abdomen will relax and shrink down. However, the muscles may remain stretched allowing a bulge and your abdominal skin looser compared to before pregnancy. Breasts can develop sagging or stay a larger size or a smaller size. This is very variable between women. Some women do not have many lasting effects while others have a huge change compared to before pregnancy.
If you are soon after pregnancy or plan to have more children in the future, are planning to lose weight or are overweight, it may not be the right time to have surgery. Breast feeding should also be finished for at least 6 months before any breast surgery is performed.
If you are too soon after pregnancy or still breast-feeding, are planning to lose more weight or are overweight, it may not be the right time to have mummy makeover surgery. If you smoke or have significant health problems, this will need to be assessed and you may be advised to wait or not to have body contouring surgery.
Most areas of the body can be treated. The most common procedures are abdominoplasty and breast surgery but liposuction, labiaplasty and other procedures can be part of this too. There are individual procedure pages for all of these surgeries on the website which you can visit for more detail on the combination of procedures that fit your goals.
Achieving a stable and healthy weight is the first step. Next is optimising your nutrition and any health issues that you have. Consider which areas you would like treated and what your priorities are. Plan your recovery. Consider the psychological impact of this surgery and the recovery. Consider the cost of the surgery and how you would cover this. Research your procedure and plastic surgeon and finally have at least two consultations before proceeding with surgery.
You will usually have tapes on the incisions. You will need to wear a support garment and or bra for 6 weeks. Combination mummy makeover surgery usually requires one night in hospital although some are possible as a day case. You can shower with care after 48 hours.
You will be advised to gently mobilise carefully the first week or two. On average 3 weeks off work are needed. No heavy lifting or strenuous activity is allowed for 6 weeks. Some forms of exercise can be restarted at 4 weeks. Most exercise is restarted at 6 weeks. Driving is not allowed until you are safe to perform an emergency stop. Recovery can be longer is some cases particularly if combination procedures have been done. Individual procedures will have specific factors about their recovery as well. (more details on their separate webpages)
Unfortunately, complications can occur after all surgery and you need to be aware of this. Ms Nugent will do her utmost to reduce your risk as much as she can. This includes the health and procedure advice she gives you before surgery, the care and precautions she takes during surgery and the advice she gives you after surgery. Some of the complications that can happen include slow healing, infection, bleeding, poor scarring, asymmetry, problems with the belly button, nipple or suture junction areas, pain, numbness or sensitivity in the skin, contour irregularities, seroma (fluid build-up), clots in the legs and lungs and persistent puckering along the scar.
Most patients who undergo mummy makeover surgery after pregnancy-related body changes are very pleased with their results and find it transformative and life changing. Success depends on being prepared for your surgery, choosing the right procedure, the surgery itself and recovering well. All steps in the journey are crucial!
Visit the specific procedure pages that you are interested in on this website to read more and book a consultation to discuss your individual circumstances with Ms Nugent! There are information booklets available to download from the specific procedure pages.
