10 Things You Should Know Before Having a Mommy Makeover Surgery

Motherhood brings countless joys—but also its fair share of frustrations! As many moms will attest, one of the toughest parts about having children is that it can change your body in unwelcome ways, such as a stubborn tummy or sagging breasts. Sometimes, those changes can be reversed through lifestyle modifications—exercise and good nutrition, for example—but in many cases, they seem permanent. You might want to “fix” this and have heard over mommy makeovers but what is a mommy makeover?

We get a lot of women who come to see us simply because they want to look the way they did before they had kids—and we’re happy to help them through what we call Mommy Makeover Surgery.

Mommy makeover surgery encompasses whatever mothers need to look and feel like their pre-childbirth selves, whether that means a tummy tuck, a breast lift, or whatever else.

We love being able to provide plastic surgery mommy makeover options for women in Charlotte and beyond. Before you come in to talk with us about having a mommy makeover, we invite you to learn a little bit more about what these procedures entail.

10 Things to Know About Mommy Makeover Surgery

1. You shouldn’t schedule a mommy makeover until you’re sure you’re done having children. If you think you might want to have more kids at any point, it’s probably most prudent to hold off on your plastic surgery—simply because having more kids can undo whatever results you get from the mommy makeover, leaving you right back where you started.
2. A mommy makeover usually involves multiple procedures. It varies from woman to woman, but the typical pattern is to have a tummy tightening (what’s often called a tummy tuck) as well as some kind of breast procedure. The latter may be breast augmentation, a breast lift, or a combination of the two, simply depending on the patient’s goals. Our surgeons can do all of these procedures at the same time.
3. You should have your mommy makeover when you’re at the weight you want to be at for the rest of your life. Yes, eating right and exercising can help you to recover from your surgery more quickly, but you don’t want to get super-skinny before the procedure. We recommend reaching a weight you can maintain.
4. You can add other procedures to your mommy makeover. The mommy makeover is really all about achieving the appearance you had before kids—and in some instances, that might mean adding some additional procedures. These might include liposuction, injectables, and more.
5. Mommy makeovers aren’t as painful as you might think. While any surgical procedure can lead to some post-op discomfort, mommy makeovers are done with a drug called Exparel. Introduced about five years ago, Exparel is a localized numbing agent that lasts for a full three days—helping you to sail through the worst of the post-op pain. We did a study here at Charlotte Plastic Surgery and found that the ladies who used Exparel only needed about a third of the number of pain pills as those who didn’t use Exparel.
6. The duration of a mommy makeover procedure varies. Depending on exactly what you’re having done, you can expect your mommy makeover to take anywhere from four and a half to five and a half hours.
7. You’ll be up and ambulatory again fairly quickly, meaning you won’t have to wait long before you can go home. Note that these procedures are done on an outpatient basis, which means you’re going to be able to get up and walk out when you’re done!
8. You should plan on a couple of weeks for your recovery. Most patients are past pain and discomfort after the first week, but it may be seven to 10 days before you’re up and driving. It will be about four weeks before you’re back to 100 percent of your normal activities, including any kind of vigorous exercise.
9. Some seasons are better than others for mommy makeovers. Moms often ask us what time of the year is best to have their surgery done. The short answer: You want to have your mommy makeover done whenever you’ll have help with your children. We highly recommend choosing a time when your mother or sister can come help out, or your spouse can take a little time off work.
10. You should always schedule a consultation before your mommy makeover surgery. In fact, this is really something that we insist on. We want to make sure we’re on the same page with you about your goals, and also that we set some clear expectations about the process and the recovery time. Additionally, our surgeons will want to be sure that you’re in good health before your procedure, ensuring that you bounce back from it as quickly as possible.

What Else Should You Know Before You Have A Mommy Makeover Surgery?

We hope these pointers are helpful for you—but if you have any additional questions or lingering concerns, we’re here to answer them. One of our great joys is talking candidly with patients about the options available to them and helping them to get really excited about what plastic surgery can do. We are always here to help walk you through the process.

The main message we want patients to take away from this is that, when you become a mother, it’s hugely rewarding—yet it’s natural to feel a little frustrated by what seems like permanent changes to your body. Those changes don’t have to be permanent, however; through a mommy makeover, you can go back to the way you looked and felt before the little ones came alone.