Mommy Makeover

Phoenix and Glendale, Arizona

Dr. Paul Angelchik, certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery, and member of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS), is known in the Phoenix, Glendale and Scottsdale area for excellence in cosmetic surgery outcomes. His many satisfied patients praise him for his thoroughness and respectful bedside manner. Many come to him for body contouring, and specifically, a combination of procedures more casually known as a Mommy Makeover.

As the name implies, a Mommy Makeover is designed to help restore a woman's body to its original, attractive shape after pregnancy or significant weight loss. Makeovers are not intended as a weight-loss remedy. According to the ASPS definition, there are three primary Mommy Makeover procedures that will reshape the breasts and abdomen.

The first two of the three most common Mommy Makeover procedures are a breast augmentation and a breast lift. Pregnancy (and weight gain to some degree) stretches the breast skin and tissues. After you have stopped breast feeding and have lost weight, your breasts may sag and your areolas may be larger than you would like them to be.

If your breasts are now too large, a breast reduction can bring them to a size that is flattering for your body type. If they are too small or have lost their fullness, a breast augmentation can return them to a shape that you are comfortable with. Sagging breasts can be restored to their youthful shape with a breast lift. Large areolas can also be made smaller, though this is a less common addition to the Mommy Makeover.

Likewise, the abdominal muscles and skin are stretched during pregnancy and with weight gain. The third procedure that completes the Mommy Makeover is abdominoplasty, or tummy tuck. A tummy tuck involves removing the excess skin and tightening the abdominal muscles, leaving you with a flatter stomach. The scars from this procedure are hidden under clothing, and often fade, over time, to be barely noticeable.

Another procedure, liposuction, may be done during the tummy tuck. Liposuction can remove stubborn fat that just didn't succumb to exercise and diet. Liposuction helps contour the body by removing fat from specific locations, such as love handles. Other procedures that can be part of your Mommy Makeover include a lower body lift to reshape the thighs and liposuction to reshape your buttocks and hips.

If you are considering having a Mommy Makeover, you'll want to wait until you are done having children and have reached your ideal weight or at least a weight you can maintain. A subsequent pregnancy or significant weight gain will stretch your skin and muscles again. Since the procedure involves removing excess skin, the remaining skin will stretch more than during the previous pregnancies and/or weight gain, leaving it less elastic and more prone to stretch marks.

You can contact Dr. Paul Angelchik through his website and ask questions or schedule an appointment for your personal consultation.