While every woman is different and so is every pregnancy, a mommy makeover is designed to treat common problem areas caused by pregnancy. These areas include the  abdomen, breasts and buttocks and back. When Seattle area plastic surgeon, Dr. Marosan, performs a mommy makeover, he has a variety of procedures he customizes to your needs. He most commonly performs tummy tucks, liposuction, breast lifts, breast augmentation, breast augmentation/lift or breast reduction surgeries. Dr. Marosan will hold a thorough consultation with a patient to find out her problem areas and goals to tailor the mommy makeover specifically for her needs. The patient has her photos taken and Dr. Marosan will go over these using the TouchMD software to show you his surgical plan for you. He also uses the Vectra-3D to give you a three dimensional view of your areas of concern and the surgical plan to create an hourglass, athletic and youthful body.

The surgical techniques used during a mommy makeover vary based on the condition of each of the body areas the patient wishes to improve, the patient's BMI and health. For the breasts, common issues include sagging and loose skin and a loss of breast volume. Some women will have breasts that remain enlarged. Surgeries that may be considered include breast reduction, breast augmentation and/or a breast lift. For many, a combination of these techniques creates a youthful, beautiful post-pregnancy breast appearance. The most common example is a breast augmentation with a lift. For the lower body, it is normal to see loose skin, surface irregularities such as stretch marks, and persistent pockets of fat. These are normally addressed with liposuction of the waist, back, hips, abdomen and a tummy tuck to give the patient the best all around improvement, returning the body to the "pre-mommy" state.

A mommy makeover covers a sizeable area of the body. It is considered an invasive surgery and in many cases the surgery might need to be staged. The surgery is performed under intravenous sedation and tumescent anesthesia in our accredited surgical facility and can take 6-7 hours or longer to complete. The initial recovery is 7-10 days. The patient will walk somewhat bent over at the waist for the first week, and it is recommended that patients take it slow during the initial recovery phase. Depending on what was addressed during surgery, it could take between 3- 6 months to a full year for the final results. With that being said, most patients can go back to a normal routine in an average of 3 weeks; however, exercise is discouraged until at least 6-8 weeks after surgery.

A mommy makeover, because of the combined nature of surgeries, is considered an invasive procedure. Anytime a combination surgery takes place, the overall risks increase. For this reason, it is extremely important that patients find an experienced plastic surgeon that has the training and skill to perform multiple procedures in one setting. Under the hands of an experienced surgeon, the risks are greatly reduced and complications are rare.

It is recommended that all pregnancies are completed before a patient decides to have a mommy makeover. Pregnancy may compromise the results of the surgery, because additional skin stretching and weight gain is inevitable. Patients who are uncertain if they will have additional children should consult with Dr. Marosan to discuss the best approach to take.

Stretch marks may be minimized when the excess skin is removed. The tightening of the skin and underlying tissues will also help in making the marks less visible. Remaining stretch marks can also be minimized after surgery with skin rejuvenation treatments such as Thermitight radiofrequency or Renuvion treatment to further tighten the skin.

While a mommy makeover creates a beautiful new shape and figure for a woman, unfortunately, it does include some scarring. The scars are most common with a breast lift procedure and a tummy tuck. The surgeon will make every effort possible to create clean incisions, as well as take great care in minimizing scarring as much as possible. Any scars that result from this surgery will be able to be concealed with undergarments or swimsuits. Dr. Marosan uses a short scar breast lift technique and the tummy tuck incision is placed low at the pubic bone level.