Ask five women what its like to get a mommy makeover, and youll get five different answers.
Thelipois a walk in the park compared to thetummy tuck.
It was worth the pain.
Lapointe bra. Maidenform shapewear. Jennifer Fisher earrings. Jenny Bird necklace. Dinosaur Designs bracelet
I couldn’t get up from the sofa on my own.
Recovery was much easier than I was anticipating.
My back pain is gone.
I wish that people would stop putting such a stigma onmommy makeovers.
Its actually a bundle ofplastic surgeryprocedures determined by each patients goals.
I never considered plastic surgery until after I had my kids, shared one patient.
When yourepregnant, you dont have any control over your body.
I lost my confidence, said another.
Its also because plastic surgery, in general, is getting more popular and far less taboo.
When youre pregnant, you dont have any control over your body.
I lost my confidence.
Menopause makeovers are, too.
Truth #1: You may need to split up your surgeries.
Youre already under anesthesia, and who wouldnt want a one-stop shop for restoring their pre-pregnancy body?
Plus, theres all that adulting to contend withthechild care, the dog walker, the household chores.
It’s often easier to rearrange your life for a single recovery period.
It was too much at once.
[Otherwise,] youre not giving your body time to heal, she says.
The thing that sucks withlipois the swellinga very uncomfortable, tight feeling.
I had somenumbness, too, [for about] three months.
She was relieved to have time to recover between procedures.
Mommy makeovers, Ozempic makeovers, menopause makeoverstheres a lot of curiosity around bundled plastic surgery at the moment.
Other people can only [operate for] two or three hours before they start feeling tired.
It depends on the comfort level of the surgeon.
Truth #2: Youre going to get a new belly button.
Well, technically, its the samebelly buttonbut it will be in a new, flatter location.
During a tummy tuck, the surgeon cuts around thebelly button, leaving it connected to the muscle underneath.
Thats the most common experience.
And whether the surgeon is repositioning it or re-creating it, there is definitely an art to belly buttons.
But my belly button looks like it was there the whole time, says Marisol M.,* 43.
But her surgeon had her do it to keep the belly button from closing up, she says.
Truth #3: If you get a tummy tuck, there will be drains.
If I made the wrong move, it would sting a bit, says Danae T., 27.
You have to empty the drains a couple of times a day in the beginning.
It was annoying, but it wasnt a big deal.
Usually, patients get one drain at each hip.
Some let them hang, while others tuck them into their sweatpants pockets.
It helped keep [the drains] out of the way, says Lasha B.,* 46.
That was the experience for Sandra B.,* 46.
You have to empty the drains a couple of times a day in the beginning.
It was annoying, but it wasnt a big deal, she says.
No matter how cosmetic your surgery is, its still surgery.
And youll need to have a supportive friend orpartnerbetter yet, a whole teamon hand as you recover.
I was like, Come on, can you loveDaddyfor the next few weeks?…
Something I didnt expect?
Stuff that they werent doing before.
My oldest started unloading the dishwasher.
Weve kept those habits going.
Truth #5: Youll temporarily have the posture of a shrimp.
Part of it might be a subliminal reaction.
But its also because the tummy tuck recovery can be painful.
My stomach was so firm.
It wasnt even that tight before I had kids.
So when I first came out of surgery, I was prettyhunched overfor almost two weeks.
The tummy tuck is a lot.
I was pretty hunched over for almost two weeks.
When you cant stand up straight, its hard to get in and out of bed.
More than one patient we interviewed was grateful to have a recliner on hand during her recovery period.
I rented a recliner that could stand me up, and Im so glad that I did.
Isleptin [it for] the first three days, says Bree R.,* 36.
It helped stand me up and lay me down, then I used pillows to elevate my legs.
Truth #7: Youll need to put your gym membership on pause…a long pause.
Stay out of the gym until the six-week mark.
The whole process takes time.
After six weeks, I thought I was going torun10 miles again.
It doesnt work that way….
I dont think I was totally recovered until the 18-month mark.
About two months after her surgery, Lilah H.*, 41, says, Im able to swim.
My doctor cleared me forrunninga couple of weeks ago.
Im able to lift weights.
I just have to be careful about how much.
I dont think I was totally recovered until the 18-month mark.
And only gentle touching on those body parts until about six weeks, he says.
All of the plastic surgeons we spoke to were big fans of lymphatic massage performed by a trained specialist.
It improves not only your initial recovery but your overall result.
The massage therapist pushes fluid along your lymphatic drainage pathways.
But each massage session can also relieve some of the swelling you have.
After having one of those massages, you could definitely feel a difference.
Your grandmother might have known something similar as a girdle.
Sometimes, its referred to as a faja Columbiana.
No matter what you call it, its a post-surgical must, according to most surgeons.
I wore a compression garment for four months.
Im so happy I had surgery during the winter.
I cannot imagine wearing that all summer.
Patients have a love-hate relationship with their fajas.
(Lipo foam pads are worn under compression garments after surgery to help flatten and smooth the skin.)
Also, fajas are hot.
In the literal sense.
I wore a faja for four months.
I dealt with the faja for three months because I knew it was part of the recovery.
Getting rid of it felt so good.
It was like a little hug.
Kathleen G. has also been converted to the compression fan club.
I’ve gotten so used to it that I like the way it feels, she says.
Truth #10: Parts of your body could be numb for several monthsor more.
If something is still numb after 18 months.
That’s it[sensation is] not coming back, says Dr. Tutela.
I felt numbness all around my tummy for about a year.
While numbness does not always happen, its not uncommon.
It can take weeks to months for normal sensation to return, says Dr. Shafer.
Even if this occurs, it is rarely a big concern for patients.
Truth #11: You’ll have scars.
You have to think about whats more important to you, the shape or the scars.
Sometimes we do steroid injections to help flatten raised scars,keloids, and hypertrophic scars.
We’re partnering with you through your whole recovery process, says Dr. Shafer.
We confirm everything’s healing okay.
And then we’re doing a laser on all their incisions.
You have to think about whats more important to you, the shape or the scars.
Even the basics can glean great results for some patients.
I put oil on.
[In my experience], youve got to scrape it, youve gotta roll it.
The effort seems to have paid off: Myscarsare so thin, light, and smooth.
For some patients, though, their scar healing process may have some hiccups.
So I did cold compresses and topical Benadryl when necessary for about a month until it stopped.
Truth #12: You might have less back pain.
This is something that I learned from my patients anecdotally as they healed.
This can be due to a variety of reasons, including pregnancy or weight gain.
(Its not just a female thing; men can get diastasis recti, too.)
This separation of the muscles weakens the core and can lead to poor posture and lower back pain.
Thats why rejoining the muscles can glean positive results greater than just losing a poochy belly.
The biggest benefit, which I didnt expect, is that I feel physically stronger.
The biggest benefit, which I didnt expect, is that I feel physically stronger.
I always had chronic dull, achy, lower-back pain.
And that can be a real wake-up call.
I didnt really notice how bad my ab function was until after surgery.
Recovery isnt a straight line.
You may run into a hurdle or two, but resist the urge to freak out.
Your surgeon has likely seen whatever it is before.
What kind of stuff can go wrong?
Many of the women we interviewed had unexpected complicationssome minor, some alarmingduring their healing journeys.
It set me back emotionally.
I tried limiting the movement in my arm so it wouldnt open.
So I was like, Im not going to focus on this.
Just walking from the couch to the kitchen, I was out of breath.
I was like, This just doesn’t feel right, she recalls.
Her plastic surgeon immediately had me call 911 and go to the emergency room.
Lo and behold, I had a blood clot in my lung.
Luckily, it was just the beginning stages, and they put me on blood thinners.
I was unaware that blood clots ran in my family until this.
Afterward, my grandmother told me, Oh yeah, I get blood clots like crazy.
I wish I would have known that ahead of time.
So [my surgeon] was able to fix that in [my] second surgery.
Lasha B. had a small revision to remove the dog ears on her tummy tuck incision.
In many cases, they disappear on their own after the swelling subsides.
If not, they can be excised during an in-office visit.)
All of this is to say that keeping in touch with your plastic surgeon as you recover is essential.
Never skip post-surgical office visits, and dont be afraid to add your doctors phone numbers to your Favorites.
Its important to make them aware of any concerning developments during your recovery.
Some surgeons, like Dr. Tutela, even give out their personal cell phone number.
Some other surgeons that I tell that to think I’m crazy, but Im happy to do it.
If you see something, say something.
(If your surgeon is a unicorn, dont abuse it!
No 3 am texts unless its really necessary, just.)
*The patients name has been changed because they wish to remain anonymous.
To read more about plastic surgery:
