Recovery From Surgery: What to Expect After a Mommy Makeover

Recently I’ve been doing many more “Mommy Makeover” procedures than ever before. I believe that once my patients come to the point of committing to having a surgery, they have in many ways passed the biggest hurdle. There is definitely a mental switch that has to flip to go down the path of choosing to have surgery rather than having to have surgery. Once committed, they want to make the most of the opportunity and to get everything addressed at once.

First, what exactly is a Mommy Makeover? This term is really just a phrase meant to convey that a patient is having more than one procedure while under a single general anesthetic. It involves at minimum a breast procedure and a trunk procedure. In my practice, this is most often an abdominoplasty and a breast augmentation. Some women have a mastopexy augmentation, and some a mini abdominoplasty. The term “Mommy Makeover” was coined in the industry due to the general concept that pregnancy often permanently alters both the abdomen and the breasts, and it is not uncommon for women to wish to address both of these areas once they have finished having children. Of course, many women who have not had children and don’t intend to can also choose to have both these procedures done at once. The term isn’t one of my favorites for this reason amongst others, but it seems the industry is stuck with it.

One commonly asked question relates to the recovery period after two procedures are done. My experience has been that an abdominoplasty is usually the most significant part of the recovery. Adding a breast procedure only adds a minor increase in the level of discomfort or tiredness regardless of what type of breast procedure is done. I still require a month of abstinence from fitness activities just as I do for single procedures.

One of the key parts of recovery is ensuring that the patient is walking short distances around their home starting on the day of surgery. Patients are discharged from the private surgical facility on the same day as procedure is done, and can expect to be walking around their home later that day. This keeps the blood flowing in the legs, helping to prevent stagnation which can lead to blood clots. Gone are the days of recommending bedrest for days on end. You might be walking slowly, but you will be walking.

Patients can expect to feel uncomfortable the first week of surgery, but are very capable of moving around slowly and carefully. By the second week patients typically report feeling much better, and by the third week are becoming bored and want to get back to activity. I recommend that patients continue to complete normal daily tasks at this point, but not to undertake any projects and certainly not any fitness activities until one month has passed.

Medications used in the recovery process are variable. Post operative pain is controlled in a multifaceted manner, beginning with local anesthetic being administered during the surgery in addition to the general anesthetic that is administered. Patients can expect to take a combination of acetaminophen and anti inflammatories post surgery, with occasional narcotic use in the initial stages.

Overall I have found that my Mommy Makeover patients are exceptionally happy and glad to have had all of their goals achieved in one sitting. Understanding what to expect during recovery is a key component of deciding whether undergoing surgery is the right choice. I am available to my patients during their recovery process and continue to be available in the weeks and months following surgery.