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Restorative Cosmetic Surgery
Following Pregnancy
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Dedication • Experience • Excellence
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Mommy Make-Over
As everyone knows, pregnancy profoundly changes women?s bodies. The unmatched joy associated with having children is unfortunately frequently also associated with unwanted changes in women?s figures which cause embarrassment and self-consciousness. While the vast majority of women cherish their children, most would love to regain their pre-pregnancy appearances.
Pregnancy and breast feeding often result in a large variety and many combinations of unwelcome body deformities. Different combinations and severities of sagging and or deflated breasts, flabby, loose tummies, stubborn pockets of fat on the hips and thighs and sagging buttocks are seen in each woman.
Since each pregnancy brings about specific, individual changes in each woman, there is no single solution which is uniformly successfully applicable to all women. To achieve success, each woman requires an individualized approach by her Plastic surgeon to define and to reverse her particular unwanted post-pregnancy anatomical changes.
Depending on your presenting problem(s) and your concerns and desires, one or several cosmetic surgery procedures (i.e. breast enlargement, breast lift, tummy tuck, thigh/buttock lift or liposuction) may be needed to restore and reclaim your body.
The beauty of the "Mommy Makeover" is that in consultation with Dr. Aldea or Dr. Eby, you will choose which cosmetic surgery procedure(s) is right for you.
ABDOMEN
- Do you have the dreaded ?Mommy Tummy?, ?Bulge? or ?Pooch??
- Do you find yourself pinching your midsection or sides in the mirror wishing you could just pinch it off painlessly and flatten your tummy?
- Do you find yourself frequently ?sucking it in? in social situations and hate having your picture taken from the side?
You are not alone. Every mother had, has and will have a variable manifestation of this very common anatomical post-pregnancy phenomenon. Before discussing potential solutions, it is important that you really understand what pregnancy (or intra-abdominal obesity) does to your abdominal wall.
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| Abdominal Anatomy - The three overlapping side muscles are largely inseparable. The two center ( "6 pack") muscles separate and allow bablies to develop to full term |
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| The normal anatomy of the abdominal wall consists of two paired vertically straight (rectus) muscles, the Rectus Abdominis (aka Six Pack) muscles, in the midline which are attached to one another with a white, dense ligament - the Linea Alba.
On the sides, the abdominal wall resembles a radial tire with 3 muscles stacked on each other with their fibers running at right angles to the muscle fibers above or below it; The External Oblique, Int. Oblique and Transversus Abdominis muscles. As a result of this tight construction, weaknesses and hernias are very uncommon along the sides of the abdomen.
In addition to stretching the skin, the growing baby also stretches and causes a permanent separation between the rectus muscles - a Diastasis Recti.
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| Pregancy invariably causes separation of the tummy muscles |
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The extent of this muscle separation depends on many factors, including your genetic or familiar predisposition, your ethnicity and skin’s type and its elasticity, the rate of growth and the ultimate size of your baby (ies), your size and physical conditioning and the number of your pregnancies.
Do you have a Tummy Muscle Separation (Diastasis recti)? If you think you do, you probably have one. But, to be sure do the following:
1. Face sideways to a long mirror and bend fully at the waist with your arms extended forward as if diving off the side of a pool. Now, RELAX your tummy completely. (It is not easy and may take a few seconds). Slowly look sideways. Do you have a positive “Hammock Sign”?
2. Lie on your back on the floor with your knees bent and put your hand flat with your fingers on the midline just under your belly button. Then, as you lift your head off the floor, push with your fingertips and feel for a wide gap (THE diastasis) between the two rectus muscles. Such gaps usually extend upwards past the belly button. (Sometimes the separation is wide enough to allow you the feel the pulsations of your abdominal aorta, the biggest artery in the body, on the back wall of the abdomen).
The BAD News - Although most pregnancies are followed by some excess skin shrinkage and exercise may produces a very mild improvement, the muscle separation (rectus diastasis) is a permanent structural and physical separation. As such, despite much of the hype out there, it cannot be reversed by diet and exercise. Although exercise may improve it slightly, it will never flatten the tummy to the way it was prior to your pregnancy(ies).
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Why? Because physically strengthening your rectus muscles cannot and will not shrink or shorten the stretched Linea Alba ligament between them and bring the displaced muscles back to the original pre-pregnancy midline position. In other words, exercise will define the muscles BUT the muscles will largely remain on the sides where the pregnancy(ies) left them and the bulge/pooch will persists.
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| The GOOD News – These “Mommy Tummy, Bulge, and Pooch” deformities are completely correctable with surgery.
An Abdominoplasty (Tummy Tuck) will remove all lower abdominal skin excess (including most of the stretch marks under your belly button) and will flatten any overhang or “pooch”. It will do away with “the hammock” by bringing your displaced muscles to the midline, giving you a much flatter tummy. In cases where your private areas (mons pubis) have drooped and rotated inferiorly to face the floor, a more youthful and lifted appearance can be restored. Finally, by lifting the SFS (superficial fascioaponeurotic system) subcutaneous layer of the upper thighs, the thigh skin is elevated and smoothed, nicely improving any existing “cellulite” condition of the anterior and lateral thighs.
To make your Tummy Tuck flatness last, you should consider having your Abdominoplasty (Tummy Tuck) only after you completed having your children. Otherwise, a subsequent pregnancy will stretch you (and the repair) out again and mar the results.
A tummy tuck procedure can be combined with another operation, either Gynecological surgery (such a Hysterectomy) or, for instance, with liposuction of the hips and saddlebags of the thighs.
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Please, also read the Abdominoplasty (Tummy Tuck) page on this website.
An Abdominoplasty (Tummy Tuck) performed is a GREAT procedure with long-lasting results. The positive transformation is immediate and our patients LOVE it ! (Click here for REVIEWS and TESTIMONIALS)
BREAST
Pregnancy, with or without subsequent breastfeeding, is always associated with a temporary great enlargement of the breast tissue and a resulting increase in the overlying breast skin envelope. When the hormonal influences stabilize, the breast volumes gradually decrease leaving behind deflated, sagging often downward-pointing breasts. The needed correction would depend on your particular circumstances and desires.
A Breast Lift (Mastopexy) will remove this excess breast skin, making your breasts perkier by restoring the desired ratio of a smaller amount of breast skin envelope around your existing breast volume. If the breasts would not be as full as you would like them to be, the breast volume would need to be increased by placing breast implants and combining a breast augmentation with a breast lift.
Although many women suffer from sagging, deflated breasts that have lost their shape after having children, this can be coorected. Breast Lift (Mastopexy) with or without Breast Augmentation can restore your breasts while keeping them attractive and natural looking. (Please, refer to our Breast Lift page)
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Mommy MakeOver procedures are winners. The vast majority of women undergoing these procedures are very happy with their results and wish they had done it sooner. As they get their pre-pregnancy figures and frequently even better shapes, these women lose their post-pregnancy figure inhibitions. Suddenly, they can now wear clothes and bathing suits they could only dream about before Dr. Aldea's and Dr. Eby's surgery. Their husbands and boyfriends see them in a whole different light. They feel attractive, rejuvenated and sexy. The physical and emotional transformation is amazing. The patients are ecstatic and Dr. Aldea and Dr. Eby are happy to have been able to bring such changes about.
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Cost of Mommy Make-Over Procedures
The Cost of your procedure(s) would depend on which procedures are done and how long it actually takes to perform them. (Obviously, a Tummy Tuck and breast Augmention with a lift would take less time in a 5'4" 125 pound woman than it may in a 5'11" 190 pound woman). Regardless, we pride in keeping our fees as competitive as possible in the Memphis Metro area and often they fall below national averages charged by other board-certified Plastic surgeons (Click HERE to see).
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We will let some of our Mommy Make-Over patient friends speak for us:
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The following comments from one of Dr. Aldea's Mommy Make-Over patients are typical. What makes this letter special is that the patient is a competitive body builder. Read for yourself. (A scan of the letter is presented below).
"I am so happy with the results of my surgery. I have worked very hard to lose weight since the birth of my daughter seven years ago. In doing so, I was left with extra loose skin, bulged out muscles in my tummy and a misshapen belly button. Even though I was at ten percent body fat the week before the surgery, my body still looked almost the same as it had been for years.
I enjoy going to the gym and fot the past two years I've been dreaming about competing in figure competitions. I knew that I could never place in the top five with all the extra skin and loose muscles in my abdominal area. Also, I was tired of spending so much time in the gym to no avail. It didn't seem fair.
When I found Dr. Aldea's office, I had been seriously thinking about having the surgery for about a year. I visited several other plastic surgeons, but none of them seemed more qualified or knowledgeable than Dr. Aldea.
Since my surgery, I am so pleased with the results. I knew that the loose skin would be gone, but it had been so long since I'd seen the figure that I had before the birth of my daughter. I feel like I have a shape again! My muscles are back intact and I have curves that I didn't even know were there before. I am more confident than ever before and I'm proud of my body. My hard work in the gym combined with Dr. Aldea's hard work in restoring my body through surgery has left me more confident to compete in the fitness industry as well.
A big thank-you to Dr. Aldea!
name withheld "
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Are YOU Ready to get your Pre-Pregancy Body Back ? ONLY BETTER?
CALL US. We will Help you Get it Back.
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- You need not remain trapped in the body your pregnancies left you with.
- There is no reason for you to remain self-conscious about your appearance after having your children.
- Do not needlessly resign yourself to a lifetime of wearing only bulky, loose clothes and avoiding certain social activities.
Whether your breasts are now deflated or sagging, if you have wider hips, and, or if have an overhanging, bulging tummy that just won’t go back to its former firm and flat contour - let us help you.
Dr. Aldea and Dr. Eby are Memphis Mommy MakeOver Experts.
They can help you recover a better, more flattering figure.
Dr. Aldea is honored to be a featured TUMMY TUCK EXPERT on RealSelf.com.
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We can contour your figure, flatten your tummy and make your breasts perkier.
Take the first step to reclaim your "Before Baby" figure.
Call us today at (901)752-1412
to schedule your face-to-face consultation with Dr. Aldea or Dr. Eby.
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Free and Quick Translation into 11 Languages - Traducción Libre y Rápida al Español
For your convenience, you can have this page translated into either Spanish, French, German, Italian or 8 other languages. All you have to do is choose the language you want this page to be translated to on the Right.
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Para su conveniencia, usted puede tener esta pagina traducida en Espanol u otros 10 lenguajes mas. Lo unico que usted tiene que hacer , es elegir "Spanish" decea en el menu de la derecha.
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This web site has been prepared to give you a basic understanding of this type of cosmetic procedure. If you want to learn more or have any further questions, please call us at (901) 752-1412 to arrange a consultation with one of our doctors. You will be under no obligation to undergo surgery by attending a consultation with either Dr. Aldea or Dr. Eby.
Please, call 752-1412 for your appointment today!
Cosmetic surgery is an investment in yourself.
An investment which could make a world of
difference in your outlook.
Peter A. Aldea, M.D. Patricia L. Eby, M.D.
Certified and Re-Certified by The American Board of Plastic Surgery
Members of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons
Fellows of The American College of Surgeons
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Cosmetic Surgery Specialists of Memphis, PLLC
6401 Poplar Avenue, Suite 360, Memphis, Tennessee 38119
Telephone (901) 752-1412
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