The newly born baby is everything in the world for the mum. However, in the process of giving the baby their undivided love, mums often neglect themselves. Their appearance and well being often takes a back seat. The body undergoes many changes during pregnancy. Women should by all means enjoy their new found joy and motherhood, but they should look after themselves at the same time. Ladies should wait for about six months to a year for the tissues to settle down after a pregnancy, but after this there should be no sense of guilt in having any procedures done to help restore your body to its pre pregnancy state or as a reward for the pregnancy, even acquire a body that is better than the pre pregnancy one!
The Abdomen
The tummy is obviously expanded to accommodate the baby. This leads to stretching of the skin of the abdominal wall. This increase in surface area of this skin is called tissue expansion. In younger patients who have more elastic skin, the skin can retract back to almost pre pregnancy state, however if the skin is less elastic and has been stretched to break point (stress relaxation and tissue creep) this will not retract and there will be permanent excess, overhanging skin. This needs to be removed and can be very effectively be dealt with a tummy tuck procedure.
Pregnancy also results in stretch marks. Most of these stretch marks tend to be below the level of the belly button and a tummy procedure eliminates these when this skin is taken away. Hooding of Umbilicus with excess overhanging skin can also be very unsightly and upsetting. This is also addressed at a tummy tuck procedure by releasing the umbilicus from the excess abdominal skin and repositioning it in the stretched out skin, after the excess skin has been removed.
The muscles of the abdominal wall are also stretched out, but muscle tissue is contractile and the tone of the muscle can be regained with exercise after the pregnancy. The rectus abdominis muscles (central six pack muscles) are held in the middle in a rectus sheath. In some pregnancies, especially with larger babies, this sheath can split in the mid line and the muscles then tend to stray away from each other, leading to divarication or separation of the muscles. This weakens the abdominal wall and leads to an abdominal bulge. Weakened core abdominal muscles can also contribute to back pain. During the consultation, Mr Mahajan will carefully examine you for the presence of a divarication and if present, he will plan to repair this for you during the surgery.
Pregnancy can also result in a droop in pubic area. Lax skin in the mons pubis area with or without excess fat can lead to giving problems in this area with sagging excess tissue overlapping the groins. Some ladies end up with excess sweating and rash in the groin creases as a result of this. An abdominoplasty procedure helps address this, by elevating the tissue in this area. This can be combined with liposuction to make this area flatter if necessary.
During pregnancy, most ladies end up with increased deposits of subcutaneous fat. Having a tummy tuck procedure to excise excess skin is one thing, but getting rid of the excess fat and contouring the abdomen at the same time gives you flatter, firmer and well contoured tummy that would allow you to wear smaller figure hugging dresses. To achieve this you may need to have a Lipo-abdominoplasty procedure, which is a tummy tuck procedure that is combined with liposuction to get rid of fat in the ‘hard to get rid of’ areas such as the central abdominal and ‘love handles’ areas. Taking away fat from the ‘love handles’ area tends to restore the ‘hour glass’ curve in this area and the removing fat from the central abdominal area helps uncovers the underlying six pack muscles! Liposuction combined with excision of excess skin gives your tummy and waist the best possible contour.
Some ladies with a good skin tone and elasticity do well after pregnancy and the expanded skin retracts well. Healthy diet and exercise is obviously the best option is getting your body back. However, they may end up with some excess subcutaneous fat that they are not able to get rid off in spite of sweating it out at the gym. These patients do well with help in the form of liposuction which restores the abdominal contour.
The Breasts
The breasts and the abdomen are together considered as one big cosmetic area. A tummy tuck procedure can give you a flat tummy, but it is not nice to have loose droopy breasts overhanging a nice new tummy! The breasts tend to enlarge in preparation for lactation during pregnancy. Patients who have always had smaller breasts see this as a welcome change. However, following the pregnancy the breasts deflate and not only are ladies left with empty breasts, but this is made worse by the fact that the skin envelope that had stretched out when the breasts were enlarged. As a result, ladies are left with loose droopy and empty breasts. These patients benefit from an augmentation mastopexy, which involves uplifting the breasts and filling the breasts up at the same time. Doing the two together is a complex surgical procedure that needs to be safe to do. Mr Mahajan has mastered this technique during his period in Stockholm and is happy to offer this surgery to patients as a single stage procedure with immediate results rather than prolonging treatment over a few months, involving two operations.
There are other ladies who have have always had small breasts that fill up to a decent volume during pregnancy, but they loose the shape and volume following the pregnancy. Although the breasts appear to be empty and droopy, this is mainly due to lack of breast volume and can be addressed by doing a breast augmentation procedure, without the need for an up lift. This is usually the case with ladies who have had smaller breasts of cup size A or B.
Some women end up retaining a reasonable volume in the breasts, but the breasts are droopy due to the skin envelope being stretched out during pregnancy. If you are happy with the volume of the breasts in a bra, but would like to have the shape and droop addressed then this can be achieved by doing an uplift procedure only. This is usually the case with ladies who have had more fuller breasts of cup size C or D.
Women with much larger cup size may wish to consider having a breast reduction/uplift procedure to reduce the breasts to suit their body frame and lift them up at the same time. This is usually the case in women who have always wished to have their breasts reduced, but the appearance has got worse following pregnancy leading to heavy droopy breasts.
The Face
Having had the torso addressed and contour restored to the chest and abdomen, the icing on the cake can come in the form of rejuvenating the face. The confidence of having a good body is often reflected in the radiance of the face. This can most often be achieved by simple methods such as administering Botox and/or fillers. Sometimes liposuction may be needed to remove excess fat from the neck area (double chin) or even a face / neck lift procedure in the more mature mums. Treatments can be tailor tacked according to individual needs. Mr Mahajan can assess your face and discuss options in detail with you.
“I had a lot of concerns when I went for my first consultation. I was looking for a tummy tuck to start with, but had heard some horror stories about the procedure and was scared to under go surgery. When I met Mr Mahajan, he explained every thing to me very clearly and I came away very reassured. I then decided to go ahead with Liposuction and abdominoplasty procedure. The care I recieved at the Spire Elland hospital was amazing, the nurse were very kind and looked after my every need. Following the surgery, it took a couple of weeks to recover and the changes to my tummy was unbelievable. I was closely followed up by Mr Mahajan after the procedure and felt very valued with the care I recieved. Initially I only wanted to have my tummy to be done, but as my tummy settled into a nice six pack abdomen, the breasts looked disgusting! I consulted Mr Mahajan about them and he recommended a breast uplist procedure. I went ahead and had the uplift done and I now have a body to die for! My partner certainly thinks so and is chuffed with the results of my makeover. The procedure has changed my relationship with my partner and we now have a fanstastic time together. I am a new person and am very grateful to Mr Mahajan and his team for changing my life. I would recommend him highly to any one considering to have a mommy makeover.”
“I spent a substantial amount of time researching potential options and considering the merits of each before deciding to go with Mr Mahajan. It was the best decision I could have made, the results of the surgery were far beyond what I ever thought possible. Mr Mahajan is a perfectionist but one who makes it clear just what is achievable with surgery. In my opinion, Mr Mahajan is, without any doubt, the surgeon to choose if you are looking to achieve outstanding, natural results.”