Mommy Makeovers are one of my favourite procedures. I love the dramatic changes that people can have with one surgery. My most favourite memories have come from the big reveal after a Mommy Makeover. I have had patients cry with joy. I have seen husbands’ jaws practically hit the floor. I have had patients tell me how much it has improved their self esteem. Others talk about how it has given them a closer relationship with their spouse, more than they have had in years. It really changes peoples lives. Seeing how happy patients are is the best part of my job, even more fun than doing the surgery.

Traditionally, a Mommy Makeover is a tummy tuck and a breast surgery. The breast surgery is variable, depending on what a patient needs. It could be a breast lift, a breast reduction, a breast augmentation, or a breast augmentation with a lift. It is customizable depending on what a patient needs. It now seems that the Mommy Makeover is branching out to other things as well. And why not? You are already having surgery, and a recovery and time away from work, so why not add it on seems to be the logic.

Here are just a few of the things that patients are doing while they are have their Mommy Makeover:

LASER RESURFACING:

A laser skin treatment (or laser resurfacing) takes about an hour, but can wipe away years of sun damage and signs of aging. I use several types of laser light to address various concerns including pigmented spots, broken blood vessels, fine lines, deeper creases, lax skin and loss of skin lustre. The first few days you look a bit rough and have to wear some gel, but within days, your skin has healed and continues to look better and better over the next few months as the deep skin layer rejuvenates itself. The results are amazing and permanent in the sense that you will always have nicer looking, more youthful skin than you would have otherwise. The recovery is minimal, and doesn’t add any more time to your recovery. By the time you come back to the office for your post-operative visit (at approximately one week) your skin will already be healed.

LIPOSUCTION:

Most people have a trouble spot on their body that they would like to disappear. Liposuction is a great procedure to contour the body. In the setting of a Mommy Makeover, it can be done to remove a roll of fat in the armpits, the waist area, the thighs (especially the saddlebags on the outside), or the roll in the medial thighs. The roll in the armpit is the most popular procedure that I do in conjunction with a Mommy Makeover. In addition to removing the roll, it helps to give a beautiful shape to the lower lateral part of the breast. Liposuction will cause some bruising, but the recovery overall will not change much from the Mommy Makeover. You will have to wear a compression garment to get the best skin tightening and contour for several weeks.

BREAST FAT TRANSFER:

Some patients want larger breasts but don’t want breast implants. Fat transfer to the breast has become an increasingly popular way of doing breast enlargement surgery. It is the ideal surgery… you get rid of the “trouble spot” that nutrition and exercise don’t seem to address, while at the same time getting fuller breasts. It is a bit of a time consuming procedure because each drop of fat has to be meticulously placed. Anyone that doesn’t take the care when harvesting, processing, and transferring the fat will simply not get as much fat to survive. Some patients do not have much fat, and these days it would seem that the butt is often off-limits for fat harvesting, as many people prefer to keep their “booty”. For those patients, I take all the fat out of the lower abdominal tissue that we are removing during the tummy tuck and put it into the breast, rather than simply discarding it. This is a great way of getting a little more breast volume, without having any other areas of the body operated on.

LABIAPLASTY:

Vaginal rejuvenation is one of the fastest growth areas in plastic surgery. The most common procedure is a labiaplasty. For women that have a larger labia than desired, it can be reduced and reshaped. This may be a congenital condition or something that changed following the birth of children. For some women it affects both sides, for others it is one or the other. For many women, they want the labia reduced to make the vagina appear more youthful and attractive. For others, the longer labia gets tugged-on and may cause pain during intercourse. The extra tissue is removed and the labia is re-contoured. Sutures are resorbable so they do not need to be removed. The procedure is fairly brief and the recovery is minimal. There may be some bruising and swelling for a few days. Intercourse should be avoided for several weeks to allow full healing.

Each of these procedures listed above can be done on their own, but since they are brief and have little added recovery, performing them at the same time as the Mommy Makeover can be a great choice for people. It limits the number of surgeries people have. It means only one recovery period and one time away from work. It takes less time to do these procedures together than if you did them individually. This saves time in the OR and can mean lower costs.

If you are interested in learning more or having a private consultation please click here or telephone 905-849-4282.

Dr Rodger Shortt is a plastic surgeon in Oakville, Ontario. He strives to provide the best plastic surgery results and is one of only a few plastic surgeons in Canada with the best rating of 5 stars on RateMD, RealSelf and Ontario Doctor Review. Dr Rodger Shortt is a specialist plastic surgeon who graduated from Queen’s Medical School in 2004 and became certified by the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada in 2009. He received further sub-specialty fellowship training with international plastic surgeons in micro-vascular breast reconstruction, cosmetic plastic surgery, and body contouring after bariatric (gastric banding) surgery, significant weight loss or post-pregnancy. He is the Director of Cosmetic Surgery Training at McMaster University and an Assistant Clinical Professor. If you are interested in a consultation with Dr Shortt please contact as at 905-849-4282 or visit www.drshortt.com.