What is a Mommy Makeover

Literally, it is a total body transformation.
In recent years, plastic surgeons have witnessed a new social phenomenon. Mothers aged 25-50 who have had children, decide to give themselves a gift. They choose to restore their body.

Identifying the problem
After pregnancies and when children are starting to grow, mothers decide that they deserve to get their lives back. Although they feel satisfied with their families, they feel that their body has lost its former glory.

Taking action
A combination of surgical procedures in upper and lower body can be performed to correct the changes brought about by pregnancies, breastfeeding and years of neglect.

Which is the most common surgical procedure?
It is customary to have multiple surgical procedures performed at the same time. The most popular combination involves breast surgery (lift or augmentation), tummy tuck and liposuction.

Isn’t it dangerous to have several procedures done together?
20 years ago, combining many surgeries was considered innovative yet risky, but thanks to improvements made on the techniques and the new safety features installed in operating rooms, combined surgical procedures can now be easily carried out.

Are there any prerequisites for multiple surgical procedures?
Yes, first of all, we need a healthy patient and of course, a talented, experienced surgeon.

Are there any examples of such multiple surgeries available?
In 2008 we participated in a TV show hosted by MEGA TV, a Greek television channel. During the show, we performed long surgical procedures on 3 patients. These were considered mommy makeovers. Mrs. Maria Tsalapatani underwent a facelift, breast reduction, tummy tuck and liposuction during a 6-hour surgery. Mrs. Froso Miliakidou underwent a 6-hour surgery involving a belt lipectomy and a face lift performed at the same time. Mrs. Areti Papa had a facelift, tummy tuck and breast reduction.

Although somehow rare and intimidating to patients, multiple surgical procedures are nowadays absolutely safe. It is worth noting that the pioneers in multiple surgical procedures were talented plastic surgeons. Among them, Dennis Hurwitz, a top surgeon of the new generation, and Pitanguy, the founding father of plastic surgery.

The secrets of success are:

1. Strict patient selection and preparation. The patient must be healthy.
2. Use of new technology to avoid complications (anticoagulation protocols, anti-thrombosis socks, mechanical calf compression during and after surgery, electric blankets while on the operating table. Patient evaluation based on the Caprini/Davison model to determine those who are most likely to develop deep vein thrombosis).
3. Use of innovative, blood-free and safe surgical techniques, such as the non-touch-non pain approach in breast augmentation now also used in tummy tuck, radio-waves (bodytite) in liposuction or V smasectomy in Facelift.
4. Great attention to postoperative follow-up (quick mobilization of the patient, minimal postoperative pain, prophylaxis against thrombosis and embolism, special diets).
5. Quick, talented and experienced surgeon.

Patients should know that these operations can be safely performed. The most common combination of surgical procedures involves:

1. Breast augmentation – Tummy tuck – Liposuction
2. Breast lift – Breast reduction
3. Belt lipectomy – Liposuction
4. Facelift , Blepharoplasty, Neck lift

Are there patients who undergo only one operation and, if yes, which is the most common procedure?
Of course, it is not necessary for a patient to undergo all these procedures. Quite often, we only perform one or two procedures on mothers/patients.  Breast Augmentation, breast lift, liposuction or tummy tuck.
Since 1997 there has been an increase of 539% in breast lifts and an increase exceeding 339% in tummy tucks, based on data provided by ASAPS (the American Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery).

What is the difference between a Full Body Lift and a Mommy makeover?

The Full Body Lift is performed on patients who were obese and have lost a significant amount of weight either through diet or bariatric surgery. These patients quite often present extended skin laxity almost around their entire body. In such cases where obesity is followed by dramatic weight-loss, a surgeon must perform multiple surgical procedures to achieve body reconstruction.

These patients usually develop severe skin laxity in the abdomen, back, waist, buttocks, legs, arms, chest and face. Therefore, such cases also require multiple surgeries as in a Mommy makeover.
The major difference between these patients and the Mommy makeover patients: because of the extensive skin laxity they need to undergo a belt lipectomy unlike Mummy MakeOver (MMO) patients who need a tummy tuck.

What results can we expect from these procedures?
I think that photographs speak for themselves. What I’d like to stress out at this point is that patients who have lost a great amount of weight must undergo a belt lipectomy instead of a plain tummy tuck, i.e. they must remove all excess skin from around their waist. A simple tummy tuck will not solve the problem and the patient will be disappointed with the bad result.