Combined Procedures for a Mommy Makeover Columbus OH

Whether or not all of the procedures that you are considering in a mommy makeover can be done at the same time or need to separated into more than one surgery depends on a number of things including your overall health, what procedures you have chosen, how much needs to be done and how long the combination of procedures will take. In Columbus, Ohio, Board Certified Plastic Surgeon, James D. McMahan, MD, can customize a combination of procedures to create the best Mommy Makeover for you.

Overall Health

As long as you are reasonably young and in good health with no significant medical problems, you can safely have two or three procedures performed under a single anesthetic. This not only saves time and money, you also only have to go through one recovery period. Those who are at a more advanced age or who have some medical issues, which may increase the risk of complications with longer procedures, are generally better off separating procedures into more than one surgery.

Body Mass Index

One way that plastic surgeons determine your risk index for combined elective cosmetic procedures is by calculating your body mass index (BMI) from your height and weight. A normal BMI is 20-25 and, if yours is in that range, you are a better candidate for elective surgery and may be able to combine more procedures than someone with a higher BMI. A BMI of 25-30 means that patient is overweight and a slightly higher risk for a prolonged surgery. Higher BMI’s significantly increase ones risk for surgery. 30-35 is considered obese, 35-40 is morbidly obese and over 40 is severe obesity.

Common Combinations

Two areas that women are most commonly concerned about following pregnancy are their abdomen and breasts, as these tend to suffer the most damage from bearing children and breastfeeding. Excess skin on the breasts results in sagging, which can be corrected with a breast lift (mastopexy). The extra skin is removed, often the areola is made smaller and the breast is elevated to its normal position on the chest.

Liposuction

Liposuction is a common adjunct to many body contouring procedures such as abdominoplasty, arm lifts and thigh lifts. This can include removing fat from the primary area of surgery, in an adjacent location or remote areas. A limited amount of liposuction can typically be done on the above procedures because of the concern of further reducing blood supply to the skin that has been undermined, lifted and pulled tight. Those restrictions do not apply to other areas such and the hips, flank or back when done in combination with a tummy tuck. Adding some liposuction to other body contouring procedures generally does not add much to the recovery period.

Breast Implants

Breast augmentation is a procedure that is frequently performed at the time of a mommy makeover. Often times, in addition to sagging, breastfeeding results in loss of breast volume, which is best treated with insertion of implants. Performing a breast lift at the same time as putting in implants can limit the size of implant that can safely be inserted; again because of blood supply concerns, this time to the nipple/areola complex. When very large implants are being considered, it may be best to do the lift first and wait until later for implant placement.