What is a Mommy Makeover?

The traditional mommy makeover combines two cosmetic procedures that are done during the same operation: a tummy tuck and a breast lift. Today, however, it’s very common for patients to add on a breast augmentation, breast reduction, arm lift, thigh lift, or liposuction. At our practice, we provide discounts for subsequent cosmetic procedures, which makes booking a mommy makeover much more affordable than standalone surgeries, while minimizing recovery downtime. We also work with Care Credit, which provides interest-free loans for up to 12 months to help our patients cover procedural fees.

What to Expect

Our goal is to rejuvenate, lift, and tighten your breasts and abdomen so you feel more confident in your skin after pregnancy and breastfeeding. We want to accentuate your natural curves and proportions to achieve noticeable, yet realistic-looking results.

Before your procedure, you’ll meet with one of our board-certified surgeons to discuss your goals and medical history. We’ll examine your anatomy, take photographs and measurements, and recommend a personalized treatment approach. We’ll also talk about the procedure itself, recovery and aftercare, potential risks and complications, anesthesia, medications, and what you can expect.

If you’re getting a breast augmentation as part of your mommy makeover, we’ll also do a sizing trial, discuss appropriate implant types and sizes based on your anatomy and goals, review the implant manufacturer’s handouts, and answer any questions you have.

Mommy Makeover Surgical Overview

First, an anesthesiologist will administer IV sedation or general anesthesia for your comfort, and we’ll prep and clean the surgical areas. Your personalized mommy makeover will vary based on the procedures we’re combining, your unique anatomy, and desired outcomes.

Mommy makeovers typically combine two or more of the following cosmetic procedures:

Tummy Tuck (Abdominoplasty): Tummy tucks restore abdominal muscle function while firming up lax or sagging stomach skin and fat. During a tummy tuck, we’ll make an incision along your bikini line. Sometimes, we’ll make an additional incision around the belly button if we need to reposition it. Through these incisions, we’ll repair your diastasis recti if necessary by pulling your abdominal muscles back together. Next, we’ll pull down any excess stomach skin, create a new belly button opening, and close the incisions.

Breast Lift (Mastopexy): It’s common for breasts to sag and lose their projection and volume after pregnancy and breastfeeding. Breast lifts help elevate the breasts into a more youthful position. We can also address asymmetry and reposition the areolas and nipples if necessary. During a breast lift, we’ll make one round incision around your areola, a second vertically down from your areola to your breast crease, and potentially a third hidden under the crease of your breast. The incision pattern we use will depend on your unique anatomy and goals. Next, we will lift and reshape the breasts by removing excess skin, and restoring their youthful appearance.

Breast Lift and Augmentation (Mastopexy Augmentation): Many women lose breast volume post-pregnancy and opt for a breast lift and augmentation to restore breast fullness, shape, and projection. We typically use similar incision patterns to a traditional breast lift but also use a dual-plane approach to insert the implant partially underneath your chest muscle and breast tissue. This approach has the lowest rate of complications and camouflages the implant nicely. To learn more about the types of implants we use, and implant sizing, please read our Breast Augmentation resource page.

Breast Reduction (Reduction Mammoplasty): There are many reasons why patients opt to reduce their overall breast volume after pregnancy and breastfeeding. Some are diagnosed with macromastia, or disproportionately large breasts, which means their reduction may be covered by insurance. During your reduction, we’ll make an incision around your areola, a second vertically down to your breast crease, and potentially a third in your breast crease. Through these incisions, we will remove excess breast glandular tissue, fat, and skin. Our goal is to maintain an appealing and youthful breast contour while achieving your desired breast size.

Liposuction: Many mommy makeover patients also want liposuction to permanently eliminate stubborn fat deposits on the hips, thighs, stomach, chin, flanks, breasts, back, and arms. Liposuction is minimally-invasive and effectively removes adipose tissue, or fat cells, for good. First, we inject a diluted local anesthetic solution into the areas we want to target. This tumescent solution helps us safely remove fat tissue while also reducing bruising, bleeding, and soreness. Next, we’ll insert a thin tube into small incisions and loosen the fat cells up by moving the cannula back and forth. Dislodged fat cells are then suctioned out of the tube and permanently removed from the body.

Mommy makeovers usually take three to four hours, and you can go home after the procedure. You will need somebody to drive you home, as you won’t be allowed to drive a vehicle after anesthesia. We perform mommy makeovers at our accredited Northern Arizona SurgiCenter in Flagstaff, Arizona.

Medical Review: This procedural information has been medically reviewed by plastic and reconstructive surgeon, Brian A. Cripe, M.D.