At Kadz Plastic Surgery in Beverly HIlls, CA, Dr. Bruce Kadz is passionate about helping his clients feel as comfortable in their skin as possible. We often have women come in with several cosmetic concerns after pregnancy and childbirth, so we are proud to offer a mommy makeover, a combination of several cosmetic procedures performed during a single convenient appointment. Here’s what you need to know.
How Long Is Recovery After a Mommy Makeover?
Your mommy makeover recovery timeline can vary based on several factors, including the number of procedures you undergo, the scope of the procedures you undergo, your overall health, and how well you care for yourself after surgery. Generally, you should expect to resume most normal activities within one to four weeks after surgery. Typically, strenuous physical activity can be resumed four to six weeks after surgery.
What Can I Do to Recover Faster?
Get a Caretaker
If you are anxious to recover from surgery as quickly as possible, you should make sure that you have someone to stay home with you and help you care for yourself for at least three days after surgery. You may want someone to help you bathe and dress yourself, and having a caretaker will increase the likelihood that you comply with your prescription drug regimen.
Take Your Medications As Prescribed
Another important aftercare guideline to follow is to take your medications as prescribed. If you get sick, your recovery will take longer than it should because your body requires a lot of energy to fight illnesses. You should take a full course of antibiotics exactly as directed.
Additionally, you should not exceed the maximum daily dose of prescription analgesics. Furthermore, it is important that you avoid taking blood-thinning analgesics, like ibuprofen or aspirin, for at least 10 days following surgery.
Rest As Much as Possible
Recovering from surgery requires a lot of energy, so it is very important that you listen to your body carefully and rest whenever you feel you need to. Ideally, you should get around nine hours of uninterrupted sleep each night. It is also ideal to not wake up to an alarm. You should allow yourself to wake up naturally once you have had enough rest.
Stay Hydrated
It is also extremely important that you stay hydrated if you want to recover from surgery as soon as you can. Individual hydration needs are unique, but you should probably aim to drink at least half a gallon of hydrating fluids every day. However, you may be able to achieve adequate hydration by drinking only six cups of fluids daily if your diet is rich in water-dense food.
Eat Nutritiously
Like hydration, adequate nutrition is an important part of rapid recovery from surgery. You may not feel like eating much after surgery, but you should try to sip on a protein-packed green smoothie to help you stay hydrated and nourished. While there is no special diet you will need to follow after surgery, you should try to eat lots of fruits and vegetables to help ensure you get your RDA of important micronutrients, like zinc and vitamin C.
Nuts, legumes, and seafood are all great sources of protein, a crucial macronutrient that your body breaks down into amino acids. You need to get plenty of amino acids from your diet because your skin uses amino acids to produce collagen, and collagen is an essential protein for skin healing. Additionally, you should make sure that you are getting plenty of soluble fiber in your diet to keep your bowel movements regular, especially if you are taking opioids for pain relief.
Get Moderate Exercise
While it’s crucial that you get plenty of rest, it is also important that you get at least 30 minutes of moderate exercise daily once you’re feeling up to it. Walking is a great gentle exercise to do to get your blood flowing a bit better.
Just be very careful to not exert yourself too much. If you notice during your exercise that your breathing is getting heavy, take a break. Also, keep in mind that it’s okay to break your exercise up into shorter periods, like three 10-minute walks around your yard.
Which Procedures Are Included in a Mommy Makeover?
Abdominoplasty
Pregnancy can take a toll on any region of the body, but it most commonly affects the abdomen. Abdominoplasty, also known as a tummy tuck, is a great procedure to consider after pregnancy due to the number of benefits it can provide. It is most commonly used to correct aesthetic problems. However, medical concerns can also be corrected with this procedure, including:
- Stress urinary incontinence
- Diastasis recti
- Ventral hernias
- Lower back pain
During your initial consultation, Dr. Bruce Kadz will discuss all of your concerns and goals and advise you on whether abdominoplasty is right for you. If you are only concerned about the appearance of your lower abdomen, you will only need partial abdominoplasty, so your recovery may be a bit briefer than it would be if you got full abdominoplasty. However, you should know that partial abdominoplasty will not affect your abdominal muscles or upper abdominal skin.
Liposuction
Liposuction is another procedure commonly included in a mommy makeover. If you are overweight or at a healthy weight, there is a very good chance that you will be a good fit for this fat removal procedure. Generally, as long as there is enough excess subcutaneous fat in an area of concern, liposuction can be performed in the area. However, you should note that there can be too much fat in an area of concern for this procedure to be effective.
This fat removal procedure is usually used to remove excess fat from larger areas, like the abdomen, back, and thighs. However, it can also be used to improve the appearance of your upper arms, hips, buttocks, and other areas. Individual results vary, but this procedure can usually remove around a quarter of subcutaneous fat from large areas and a much higher percentage of fat from small areas.
Breast Augmentation
Another popular mommy makeover procedure is breast augmentation. It is not uncommon for women’s breasts to become asymmetrical after pregnancy and nursing. You may be considered a good candidate for this procedure if you want to increase the size of one of your breasts to improve symmetry or increase the volume of both of your breasts.
During your evaluation, Dr. Bruce Kadz will discuss whether a silicone, saline, or structured saline implant will be most appropriate for you. Each implant type brings unique benefits to the table, so the right implant for you depends on the goals you are trying to achieve. The optimal implant placement and size will also be determined during your evaluation.
Breast Lift
You also may improve your self-confidence by getting a breast lift. If you need another breast procedure, like a breast augmentation or breast reduction, in addition to a breast lift, we may be able to use the same incisions to perform both procedures. This may make your recovery a bit easier because less skin needs to recover from incisions.
Breast Reduction
Some mothers lose a significant amount of breast volume after pregnancy and nursing, but other mothers feel that their breasts are too large after giving birth. If you are struggling to find comfortable, flattering lingerie or swimwear because of large breasts, there is an excellent chance that you will be considered a good breast reduction candidate. Generally, you can expect to go down a cup size or two once you have fully recovered from surgery.
Brachioplasty
Brachioplasty, sometimes referred to as an arm tuck or arm lift, is another procedure that may help you restore the confidence you had before pregnancy. It primarily involves eliminating any excess upper arm skin you may have and tightening in loose skin you have in your upper arms.
However, the muscle tissue in your upper arms may be restructured to help you achieve your desired contours. Often, this procedure is combined with liposuction to create sleek, toned arms that you can be proud of.
Schedule Your Initial Consultation Today
Generally, you should be able to resume most of your usual routine one to four weeks after your mommy makeover. However, it may be four to six weeks before you can resume strenuous physical activity. To find out if surgery is right for you, contact us now at Kadz Plastic Surgery in Beverly Hills, CA to schedule an initial consultation with Dr. Bruce Kadz.