Seattle Plastic Surgeon Discusses Mommy Makeover on Mother’s Day
Ah, the joys of motherhood! I can wax eloquently about fat little feet, apple cheeks, wet baby kisses and so on but one of the joys I did not expect was a boost in my Plastic Surgery practice, especially my “mommy makeover” patients. Since becoming a mother myself, I speak “mommy” really well. I know first hand the glorious details of feeding, bathing, changing, and schlepping the baby. I can recite the stages of the toddler, the preschooler, the gradeschooler, the tween, the teenager and currently I am becoming an expert on the joys of being the mother of young adults.
Being familiar with all that being a mother requires makes me much better at counseling patients about the process and timing of a “mommy makeover”.
“Mommy makeovers” usually combine breast surgery (augmentation and/or lift or reduction) with body surgery (usually abdominoplasty and/or liposuction). Most women are healthy enough to have a combination of procedures during one operative session. It is, however, the first couple of post operative weeks that are the most challenging for the patient.
Mommy is used to taking care of everyone but herself. After surgery the Mommy needs to take of only herself. She needs to be “Queen for a Week or Two” and resist the urge to cook, clean, change, wipe, mop, vacuum, load, unload, fold, etc. And if her youngest weighs over 20 pounds, she may not pick him/her up for at least two weeks if breast surgery was done and for at least six weeks if an abdominoplasty was done. The little one can crawl into Mommy’s lap for a cuddle but NO HEAVY LIFTING for Mommy. This also applies to the dog.
It’s very important to for patients to discuss these issues with their families. I’ve had a few ladies who have underestimated their recovery time, have done too much too soon and have turned what should be a relatively comfortable and relaxing recovery into a very sore and frustrating one.
So, calling all mothers interested in a “mommy makeover”: Plan ahead and get your husband and your children and your friends on board. Make a sign for your bedroom door. “DO NOT DISTURB – MOMMY RECOVERING”.
It is common to combine surgical procedures and often makes a lot of sense to do so. Combining procedures saves a trip to the operating room, saves some money and consolidates recovery time. Procedures often done in combination include breast lift with a tummy tuck and face lift with blepharoplasty.
There are some procedures, however, that I will not combine. Here is an example: Posterior hip liposuction and facial surgery. Why? Liposuction involves some heavy physical labor. I work up a sweat with most major liposuction cases. That heavy large muscle effort leaves me with a fine tremor for about an hour or so and I don’t want to do fine facial surgery with a fine tremor. So can’t I do the facial surgery first? No that won’t work either. The posterior hip liposuction requires the patient to be face down on the OR table. Positioning a patient who has just had facial surgery face down is NOT a good idea. Another example: Brachioplasty (upper arm lift) and tummy tuck is not a good combination. A tummy tuck really leaves the patient without core strength for several weeks so the patient is very reliant on the arms to move around in bed or get up from lying or sitting down. Arms that are fresh from a brachioplasty are very sore and should not engage in heavy work.
So, when patients are looking at more than one procedure, sometimes it makes sense to combine them but sometimes it doesn’t. Oh, and one other factor is surgeon fatigue. Yes, even badass surgeons like me get tired. More about that in another blog post.
How are those planet lining up for your day of surgery?
Today I saw a lovely lady who is a great candidate for tummy tuck and fat transfer to the breasts. She’s done with babies, her youngest is out of diapers and she is ready to reclaim a little bit of her babehood. She’s also got some help lined up and some time off work available and now all she needs to do is check with her astrologer to make sure planetary alignment is just right!
Back when I was a smarty pants young surgeon, I would have dissed this lady’s belief in astrology but now that I have been around the block a time or two, I recognize that many people believe in things that I don’t and vice versa. So if I need to tweek my schedule a little bit to get in alignment with her planets, I’ll do my best to do so.
Thanks for reading and by the way, I’m an Aries. That explains everything, huh? Dr. Lisa Lynn Sowder
Seattle Plastic Surgeon and mother of three teenagers (!) has a gift suggestion for Mother’s Day. She hopes her husband and children read this blog.
This robe is as soft as a kitten.
I recently had to spend the better part of a day at SeaTac, Seattle’s airport, while waiting for my delayed flight to San Franscisco to attend the annual meeting of the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery. Fortunately, SeaTac has a really nice terminal with lots of shops and restaurants to while away the hours and whittle away your wallet while waiting. I happened upon this wonderful robe at a gift shop called Fireworks Gallery. It is as light and soft and cuddly as a kitten. I almost expected it to start purring. This robe is at the top of my list for this Mother’s Day.
If you are interested in this robe for a wonderful mom in your life, Seattle has several Firework Galleries and it’s also available online from the manufacturer’s website : http://tourance.com/ And if the mother on your list already has a nice collections of robes, Tourance also carries a Wild Hyena Faux Fur Throw with Chocolate Rosebuds. Sounds fun, huh?
Happy Mother’s day to all. I’m looking forward to breakfast in bed this Sunday. Thanks for reading! Dr. Lisa Lynn Sowder
Seattle Plastic Surgeon blogs about a perfect Christmas gift for that special dude.
One thing I love about my job is that I get to chat with my patients and more often than not, I learn something. Recently I learned about a great gift for guys, especially the hard-to-buy-for guys. Who would have thought of Lululemon???
This mommy makeover patient told me about these Chillstopper pants, that are made of a very soft and light fleece and are perfect for winter running and perfect for indoor lounging. She said her husband just loves them and she was finally able to toss his old nasty sweatpants with his blessings.
I think these may have just appeared at the top of my husband’s Christmas list. These are pricey (hey, they are Lululemon) but if they can get a guy out of his sweats, they are golden. Also, these will make your dudes back side look great and if they are like my one pair of Lululemon pants, they will last through about a bajillion workouts.
Thanks for reading! If you have any Christmas suggestions, let me know! Dr. Lisa Lynn Sowder
Seattle Plastic Surgeon discusses a very thoughtful mother’s last wishes.
“To my daughter, I leave $$$$$ for the purpose of plastic surgery.”
One question I always ask when a patient is thinking about having a plastic surgery procedure is “why now?” The answer can be very interesting and often very relavent. Here are some answers I have received over the years:
I’ve always wanted to do this but my husband wouldn’t let me and now we have split up and I can do what I want.
I’m old enough to make my own decisions now.
I saw a photo of myself at my son’s graduation and was shocked when I saw my double chin. I didn’t think it was that bad.
I flipped a house in Ellensburg and have the money. (This was, of course, before the real estate crash.)
I finally have my kids through school and can spend the money on me instead of them.
I’ve worked so hard to get down to and stay at this weight and now I want to do this as a reward.
Recently I received an totally unexpected answer to this question. My prospective patient had recently lost her mother after a long illness. In the last few days, the mother confided in her daughter that she had put aside some money for a face lift. The mother was a fan of plastic surgery having benefited from a breast reduction years earlier. She wanted to make sure her daughter used this money for plastic surgery, specifically a mommy makeover. That mother knew that everytime her daughter slipped into her swimsuit and enjoyed her surgical result, there would be a smile and a “Thanks Mom”.
Seattle Plastic Surgeon thinks her patients are the best.
Earlier this week one of my patients had bruises all over her body and I was a little worried about her until she told me that she and a bunch of friends had competed recently in a Muddy Buddy Race. I knew what she was talking about because the Seattle Times had covered this race and after reading the article and seeing the photos, I thought, “I bet that is a lot of fun!”
But now after seeing those bruising and hearing a first person account of the obstacles (an ice water “hot tub”, being hoisted up many climbing walls, and electrical shocks) and a waiver that is called the DEATH WAIVER, I think I will leave that sort of fun for others. But I am so proud that one of my patients was a finisher.
Seattle Plastic Surgeon Blogs About Trees and Mommy Makeovers – Again.
I returned from my two weeks away on Sunday night after dark. The next morning as I was getting into my car, I caught the most lovely scent wafting across my drive way. Lo and behold, our harlequin glorybower tree had bloomed while I was away. This lovely little late bloomer does a good impression of being dead until late spring and then slowly leafs out and just when everything else in the garden is looking a little boring, tah dah, it bursts into bloom with the most lovely pink blossoms that then turn this otherworldy red and colbalt blue. It scent is heavenly for weeks. Come late fall, the leaves turn a purpilish orange and if you crush them, they smell like peanut butter!
So what on earth does this have to do with plastic surgery?
Well, my first day back I saw a lady who described herself as a late bloomer. She’s forty-something and just sent her youngest off to college. After years of taking care of her family, she’s ready to do a little something for herself, in this case a mommy makeover. This is something she has wanted to do for years but with a busy household to run, never had the time for the surgery or the recovery. Now she’s finally has the time to bloom.
An article in the Seattle Times today confirmed that Seattle has had one of the wettest, coldest springs in recorded history. My Vitamin D level is probably undetectable. But……..
I still love it here and here is why. Earlier this week I was at the annual meeting of the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (www.surgery.org) and got a little taste of what patients in some other parts of the country want in the way of plastic surgery. When it comes to breast implants, it’s “go big or go home”. Ditto for buttocks. Ditto for lips. With liposuction, it is the six pack look for women. Some of these patients after surgery reminded me of some comic book heroines.
I love having patients who have a healthy and realistic idea of what the beautiful human form ought to look like. Almost all my patients share my idea that it would be nice to come out of surgery looking like it could have – on a very good day – occurred in nature.
Maybe my low Vitamin D is just making me cranky, but I just don’t like that totally fake look and (as further proof of an ever loving God), neither to 99% of my patients.
Seattle Plastic Surgeon Discusses Mommy Makeover on Mother’s Day
@lisalynnsowder
