Please call 754-277-4120 to schedule an appointment at our convenient location in Fort Lauderdale. Dr. Michael Frederick also serves the surrounding Broward County towns of Weston, Hollywoood and Cooper City. We also welcome patients from the Miami area, including Aventura and Coral Gables. Dr. Frederick also has strong ties to our Palm Beach neighbors from Boca Raton, West Palm Beach, Palm Beach Gardens and Jupiter.
A mommy makeover is a collection of surgical procedures performed in tandem to help women reclaim their pre-baby bodies. The obvious advantages of a mommy makeover are one preparation, one surgical date, and one recovery process. But this procedure does more than save time, it also offers a tailored approach. With its customizable list of procedures, a mommy makeover resolves the aesthetic concerns unique to you and restores confidence in your individual, feminine beauty.
If you’ve already found that diet and exercise don’t quite achieve what’s advertised, schedule a personal consultation with Dr. Michael Frederick. He will help you decide which procedures are best for you and your desired results. If you would like to call us, our number is (754) 277-4120.
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Postpartum Perils
What does it mean to have your body “bounce back”? Well, this experience is different for every mother. Depending on your age, genetics, and lifestyle, your body might take longer than others to regain its pre-baby contours. Others might see their pre-baby bodies only a few weeks after giving birth. But, for many mothers, their curves never quite return, even with a dedicated diet and exercise. They have permanent loose skin, pockets of stubborn fat, weak pelvic floor muscles, and a noticeable bulge at the center of their abdomens.
EXCESS SKIN
Our skin is an efficient, robust organ that continues to grow well past adolescence. Under the surface of our skin, a complex network of collagen and elastin fibers that act as its internal scaffolding, keeping it firm and tight. You might have heard of collagen as the active ingredient in moisturizers and supplements. But, our body naturally produces this strong, tensile protein. When we’re young, it’s readily produced.[1] However, during pregnancy, our skin can become stretched past its physiological limits, and aging results in a decreased production of collagen. After you give birth, the skin on your abdomen and breasts doesn’t have the same cellular support it needs to “snap back,” and women find that they’re left with loose, hanging skin and deflated-looking breasts.
SEPARATED MUSCLES
Underneath the stretching skin, abdominal muscles also undergo changes during pregnancy. Typically, around the third trimester, abdominal muscles can’t withstand the internal pressure from the fetus. This pressure puts undue stress on the line of connective tissue that keeps the vertical walls of muscles together, called the linea alba. After too much time under tension, the muscles break away from the linea alba and become displaced, weakening the core. For some mothers, the linea alba repairs itself gradually after she gives birth. But for many, this condition, known as diastasis recti, lingers for years. The torn linea alba creates a noticeable bulge in the center of the midsection,[2] and the weakened muscles result in pelvic floor disorders like incontinence.[3] While many exercise programs promise to restore your core and strengthen your pelvic floor, they can’t do so until the muscles have been realigned to their natural position.
HARD-TO-LOSE FAT
If you have postpartum fat lingering around your body, you’re not alone. It’s normal for a healthy mother to gain between 25 and 35 pounds of baby weight during her pregnancy.[4] Shedding this baby weight, however, may be a little more difficult than you expected. This is because different fat tissues play various roles in our body’s physiology. For example, visceral fat exists deeper in our body, mainly around our organs, and is burned as fuel for our organs and muscles. Conversely, subcutaneous fat regulates heat loss, protects against the spread of dermal infections, and protects organs from external pressures.[5] Subcutaneous fat is usually the fat that resists diet and exercise and keeps us from achieving our ideal physique.
Your Mommy Makeover
The collection of mommy makeover procedures is designed to address each one of the aforementioned cosmetic concerns. These procedures include a tummy tuck, liposuction, breast augmentation, and breast lift.TUMMY TUCK
Also known as an abdominoplasty, a tummy tuck addresses the loose abdominal skin and separated core muscles. Dr. Frederick begins this procedure with a hip-to-hip incision that can be discreetly hidden under your bikini line. He gently lifts the skin and sutures the separated muscles back into place. An incision around the navel ensures that it can remain in its natural position. Then, he pulls the abdominal skin taut and excises the overlapping tissue. This creates a tighter, better-contoured abdomen. Next, he makes a new hole for the navel and sutures it in place. Finally, he closes the baseline incision and wraps a compression garment around the treated area. Once you have fully healed, loose skin will be gone and core muscles will be restored. With the right training and core strengthening, weak pelvic floor disorders will gradually resolve.
LIPOSUCTION
To address the unwanted fat around your abdomen and other areas in your physique, Dr. Frederick often includes liposuction in a mommy makeover. Dr. Frederick uses the most advanced tools and techniques to optimize fat removal and achieve the best results possible. He first treats the fatty tissue with tumescent fluid. This solution swells fat cells, constricts blood vessels, and dulls nerve endings. This allows him to easily suction away unwanted fat, and you can see better results and enjoy a shorter recovery.
BREAST AUGMENTATION
When you think about plastic surgery, breast procedures often come to mind first. After all, breast procedures are in the top 5 most popular procedures in the country.[6] More specifically, a breast augmentation achieves bigger, fuller breasts with the help of silicone or saline implants. These implants come in a wide range of sizes, shapes, and compositions, giving you an abundance of freedom to create your ideal curves. Breast augmentation is ideal for mothers whose breasts have lost their youthful shape during motherhood or for mothers who simply want to go up in cup size. The possibilities are seemingly endless when it comes to adding breast augmentation to your mommy makeover!
BREAST LIFT
Known medically as a mastopexy, a breast lift improves sagging breasts by removing lax skin, excess breast tissue and raising the breast higher on the chest wall. Rather than wanting to add volume, many women include a breast lift in their makeovers to achieve a fuller, younger appearance. With changes in weight, age, and just the everyday stresses of motherhood, a woman’s breasts can lose elasticity. This results in breasts that droop on the chest and cleavage that has lost its definition. To correct this, Dr. Frederick strategically excises loose tissue and places sutures that create improved projection and a perkier appearance. This can also be combined with an augmentation for a fuller, firmer bustline.
Candidates
If you are interested in a makeover with bespoke surgical procedures, the first step is to schedule a consultation at our Ft. Lauderdale offices. Here, we will note your eligibility for a mommy makeover. It is important to note that these procedures deal with body contouring, not weight loss. You’ll need to be at a healthy, stable weight before your procedure. Any future weight gain will disrupt results. This includes future pregnancies. Also, we recommend that you be able to take a couple of weeks off to focus on recovery. This includes avoiding any heavy lifting or strenuous activities. Personal Consultation
If this is your first time with us, we will begin with a new patient interview and a physical examination. We’ll then want to learn about your desired physical results and your cosmetic concerns. Dr. Frederick will note your skin’s elasticity and areas of unwanted fat. Then, he’ll walk you through implant sizing and selection if you’re adding breast augmentation to your makeover. After you and Dr. Frederick have determined what will be included in your mommy makeover, we’ll construct a personalized treatment plan. This treatment plan will include patient-specific preparatory guidelines. We will also give you unique recovery care steps on the date of your procedure. If you have any questions, please feel free to call us at (754) 277-4120.
How Much Does A Mommy Makeover Cost in Fort Lauderdale?
The cost of your care will depend on the procedures included in your mommy makeover. We will discuss the personalized cost during your initial consultation. If you would like to learn about our financing options, please visit our financing page to learn more.
References
- Tepole, A. B., Gosain, A. K., & Kuhl, E. (2012). Stretching skin: The physiological limit and beyond. International journal of non-linear mechanics, 47(8), 938–949. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijnonlinmec.2011.07.006
- Jessen, M. L., Öberg, S., & Rosenberg, J. (2019). Treatment Options for Abdominal Rectus Diastasis. Frontiers in surgery, 6, 65. https://doi.org/10.3389/fsurg.2019.00065
- Benjamin, D. R., van de Water, A. T., & Peiris, C. L. (2014). Effects of exercise on diastasis of the rectus abdominis muscle in the antenatal and postnatal periods: a systematic review. Physiotherapy, 100(1), 1–8. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.physio.2013.08.005
- Cantor AG, Jungbauer RM, McDonagh M, et al. Counseling and Behavioral Interventions for Healthy Weight and Weight Gain in Pregnancy: Evidence Report and Systematic Review for the US Preventive Services Task Force. JAMA. 2021;325(20):2094–2109. doi:10.1001/jama.2021.4230 https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2780319
- Kwok, K., Lam, K. & Xu, A. Heterogeneity of white adipose tissue: molecular basis and clinical implications. Exp Mol Med 48, e215 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1038/emm.2016.5
- American Society of Plastic Surgeons. (2020). American Society of Plastic Surgeons. https://www.plasticsurgery.org/news/plastic-surgery-statistics