ABDOMEN AND BREASTS

Reconstruction of the post-pregnancy body

When I first started practice more than 30 years ago, most mothers accepted their post-pregnancy body for life. It was not something they relished. Rather it was something they accepted as a consequence of being a mum. Nowadays, women are enjoying more choice than ever before and are often exercising it by reconstructing their post-pregnancy bodies.

In order to provide the highest quality service, my aim is, where possible, to give a woman what she wants. When she first attends my practice I will ask her to describe her ideal outcome from the procedure. Invariably, she will say she would like to go back to how she used to be prior to pregnancy. She knows she won’t be exactly the same because she will for instance have scars, but she would like a more shapely, tighter, flatter tummy and firmer, fuller breasts.

Some women just want their tummies done – an abdominoplasty (tummy tuck), which I now do as a DDA. Others want their breasts done, which for some can mean a breast uplift, for some it is a breast augmentation and for others it is a combination of breast uplift and augmentation. Sometimes the breasts have increased in size with pregnancy and women request a breast reduction. More and more women are choosing to have both their tummies and breasts treated at the one procedure, saving on cost and downtime. This is commonly referred to as a “Mummy Makeover”, though this is not a term I would usually use.

For those requesting a combined DDA and breast procedure, they require a general anaesthetic for 3-4 hours and this is generally performed as a day procedure. Most women have recovered and feel comfortable to return to work after two weeks and are usually back to normal activities after 6 weeks. Again, this is invasive surgery, and all invasive surgery carries risk. For a more in-depth discussion about risk please click on the RISK tab.