Mommy Makeover in Houston, TX

Pregnancy, giving birth, and breastfeeding can drastically transform a woman's body. After giving birth and breastfeeding, some women can exercise and diet all they want, but their body may still hold onto excess fat, have loose skin, stretch marks and breasts that have lost their shape and fullness. For women eager to recover their pre-pregnancy body, a mommy makeover is the best way to get the job done.

Women are proving they can still look and feel young through a transformation known as a “mommy makeover.” Serving Houston, Katy, and Pearland, TX, Dr. Leo Lapuerta can offer a personalized combination of liposuction, tummy tuck and breast surgery techniques to correct the physical effects of childbearing.

The goal of mommy makeover plastic surgery in Houston with Dr. Lapuerta is for a woman to regain her pre-pregnancy form and confidence with a customized series of surgical procedures. This procedure is tailored to each individual patient, but commonly involves the breasts and abdomen. Dr. Lapuerta has decades of experience and expertise performing mommy makeover surgeries, helping moms throughout all of Texas reverse the physical toll of pregnancy on their bodies.

Candidates for this surgery are women who cannot achieve their pre-pregnancy physique with diet and exercise alone. Simply put, they are not able to “fix” certain body parts. It is also recommended that patients undergoing mommy makeover surgery have completed their families and do not desire to add to their family in the future. While the surgery will not in any way limit a woman’s ability to become pregnant, have children, or breast feed, the benefits of a mommy makeover will likely be lost if the patient becomes pregnant again.

If a candidate recently gave birth, she will be required to wait at least six months after the child is born or six months after she finishes breastfeeding before undergoing the procedure. A good candidate should also be in good general health and preferably not a smoker. Patients who smoke should plan to discontinue smoking for at least 6 weeks prior to their surgery to realize the best possible outcome and minimize the likelihood of increased complications from smoking.

Any woman interested in a mommy makeover in Houston, TX must be aware of what the procedure consists of and have realistic expectations of what the final results will look like. Dr. Lapuerta strongly believes in having an open line of communication with his patients, helping them understand the intricacies of the surgery and recovery period. Before surgery, he will have an extensive consultation with the patient to answer any questions they may have and partner with them to ensure their mommy makeover plan achieves their goals.

The mommy makeover procedure is uniquely tailored to each patient depending on what body part they want to improve. In most cases, the breasts and tummy are addressed together, though this is not always the case. The conditions addressed during surgery and the surgical technique used will vary, but below are some of the most commonly used surgical techniques for mommy makeover plastic surgery in Houston with Dr. Lapuerta.

BREAST

The breasts can be severely impacted by pregnancy and breastfeeding, resulting in a variety of aesthetic issues that can be resolved with a mommy makeover. Some of the common breast conditions caused by pregnancy include a loss of volume and/or breast tissue, sagging and/or drooping breast, the development of excess skin (ptosis), as well as nipple/areolar complexes and breasts that become too large.

To resolve these breast conditions, there are many different surgeries to consider. Some common surgeries to address breast conditions as part of a mommy makeover include breast augmentation with implants, a breast lift, breast augmentation combined with a breast lift, and breast reduction surgery. Some patients considering breast augmentation or breast lift with implants may benefit from the use of an internal bra placed during their procedure.

An internal bra is a soft tissue scaffold that is placed during surgery to support the weight of an implant when a patient’s skin and or tissue is determined to require support for proper healing and to achieve the desired cosmetic outcome. Currently, there are a few types of scaffold material available that are derived from silk, porcine or that are biologically derived, monofilament materials. Dr. Lapuerta has extensive experience using these materials and will determine during your consultation if you would benefit from placement of an internal bra.


ABDOMEN

The very nature of pregnancy means that the abdomen is rarely going to look the same after giving birth. After pregnancy, many women struggle with a variety of abdominal conditions, including the presence of excess fat and/or a persistent bulge in the abdomen, sagging and/or loose skin, stretch marks, and other unsightly skin irregularities. Also, some women complain of intermittent abdominal bulging. These women exercise and enjoy a fairly flat abdomen but are frustrated by abdominal bulging after eating a meal. During pregnancy the fascial tissue which lies in the middle of the abdominal muscles is stretched apart and creates a weak area in the midline of the abdomen. Unfortunately, once the fascial tissue is stretched or pulled apart it does not return to its original form and while exercise may improve the abdominal muscles, it cannot correct the stretched fascial tissue which pulls and holds the abdominal muscles together.

Two surgical procedures are considered to address all of these abdominal conditions. As part of a mommy makeover, women will usually undergo either a tummy tuck (abdominoplasty), liposuction of the abdomen, or both. A tummy tuck will address the problems of loose skin, sagging skin, excess fat, abdominal bulging and stretch marks. Liposuction helps with extra fat deposits in areas that have become stubborn and problematic for patients after pregnancy despite a healthy diet and exercise. Dr. Lapuerta frequently recommends a combination of these two procedures with the amount and areas of liposuction varying between patients. Dr. Lapuerta believes in providing liposuction to the flanks in association with all of his tummy tucks in order to produce a feminine curvature and a more natural appearance. Frequently, women will also benefit from additional liposuction in problem areas which are common after pregnancy. These areas most often include the medial and lateral thighs and the iliac crests or hip area.

All mommy makeovers are performed under general anesthesia in an accredited surgical facility. Depending on the specific procedures recommended to achieve your cosmetic goals, surgery time will typically vary between 4 and 10 hours. A typical mommy makeover surgery is approximately 7 hours. The majority of these surgeries are same day surgery done on an outpatient basis.

Dr. Lapuerta uses a form of local anesthesia that is injected into the patient’s abdominal surgery site that provides time released numbing, local anesthetic to the abdominal area for three days after surgery. This technique greatly enhances the ability for a patient’s pain to be well controlled on oral pain medication and for them to enjoy the comfort of home for their recovery. Patients with complex medical problems or those having a significant amount of liposuction are recommended to have surgery in the hospital and stay overnight for observation.

The full recovery time is typically 6 weeks and returning to work depends on the nature of the patient’s work. Most women can expect to be able to return to work within 2-3 weeks. The results of the mommy makeover will be immediately appreciated. However, patients will notice significant improvement in healing, scars and swelling within 6 weeks and continue to improve with time with the final results generally being recognized within 8-12 weeks.

Mommy makeover procedures will vary in cost depending on how many procedures are combined. The price can range from $7000 to $28,000. A typical mommy makeover including breast surgery, tummy tuck and liposuction averages $15,000.

In order to get an accurate quote for mommy makeover in Houston cost, it is essential to meet with Dr. Lapuerta for a consultation. He will collaborate with the patient to determine which surgical procedures are needed to recapture her pre-pregnancy body, and then provide an accurate quote for the total cost.