Mommy Makeover: Info, Photos, Rewiews, Q&A

Mommy makeover on African Americans

Mommy makeover is a great operation for people of any ethnicity that have had changes in the breasts and abdomen after pregnancy. It is very common to do a breast lift and place implants at the same time as doing a tummy tuck and possibly some liposuction. The amount of scar required to do the breast lift will vary on each individual based on how much skin laxity there is coupled with how much volume will be added with the implants.

I plan to tailor the skin to the optimal breast shape after placing a temporary sizer to approximate the volume addition before placing the final implant during the operation. Tummy tuck will also allow for me to remove the excess skin and obtain the best possible contour as well.  It is certainly optimal to lose weight prior to surgery if you have been planning weight loss.

This will allow me to obtain optimal results.  I have a lot of experience operating on African Americans, and there is little difference in approach to surgery, but I will certainly be very sensitive to any personal or family history of keloid scarring that can be more common. (Kenton Schoonover, MD, Wichita Plastic Surgeon)

Pregnancy affects all women, regardless of race.

A mommy makeover is a great procedure to counteract the changes that happen in a women’s body after pregnancy.

These changes are the same for any mom, regardless of race. Pregnancy stretches the skin of the breast and abdomen, separates the muscles of the abdominal wall and stretches the skin beyond its ability to recoil and creates stretch marks.

I would encourage you to lose any weight you are planning on before having your procedure, because 30lbs down will certainly change how the skin hangs, the drooping of the breasts, and the volume of the breast tissue that we have to work with.

Also, if you lose that much after surgery everything would sag again, and defeat the purpose of getting it all fixed.Looking at your photos now, I doubt that you will be a candidate for a short scar breast lift, and if you lose your weight, you definitely will need the full lift scar.(Weight loss has both pros and cons doesn’t it!!)

On your tummy it looks like most of the strica are on the lower part below the belly button.

Those stretch marks would get removed with a tummy tuck, and a tummy tuck would help to tighten the muscles that naturally separate with pregnancy.

The only advice I would have for you is to make sure you are done having children before surgery because another pregnancy would stretch you out all over again! (Marie E. Montag, MD, Omaha Plastic Surgeon)

There is no reason that African Americans cannot be good candidates for Mommy Make Overs. Generally, Mommy Make Overs refer to restoring the unwanted effects of pregnancy on the breasts and torso.

With the single photograph supplied, it looks like you have breast ptosis (sagging) and would benefit from a breast lift. It looks pretty significant and you may need full mastopexy scars and not just the “lollypop”, but this should be determined in private consultation with a Board Certified Plastic Surgeon.

With regard to your tummy, the options will include liposuction to remove unwanted fat, if there is any after your planned weight loss, or a lipo/abdominoplasty where a tummy tuck and liposuction is combined. The incision for the lipo/abdominoplasty would generally be lengthy across the lower abdomen, which is not well seen in your photograph. All of these modalities will leave incisions and surgical scars.

It is well known that people of color can hyper-pigment or hypo-pigment their scars, and this is something that you may have to accept as a trade-off for the overall improvement. The vast majority of my African American patients are thrilled with their results.

The real threat is patients who have a history of keloid scars, which needs to be discussed very carefully with your Board Certified Plastic Surgeon. If they are strong and recurrent, you may want to avoid lengthy incisions.

Once again, the best way to weigh your risks and benefits against each other is to have a consultation with a Board Certified Plastic Surgeon. (Richard A. D’Amico, MD, FACS, Englewood Plastic Surgeon)

Mommy Makeovers for African Americans – Look at Photos!
Women of color regularly have mommy makeover surgery. Take a look at photos and see examples for yourself. A tummy tuck generally removes stretch marks. Your plastic surgeon can give you a better idea of what your result will be in consultation (Michael Law, MD, Raleigh-Durham Plastic Surgeon)

The tummy tuck will decrease the circumference of your mid section to give you a curvier waist, at the same time removing loose skin and many of the stretch marks located below your belly button. If you have abdominal muscle separation, that can also be corrected.

For your breasts, the vertical incision will probably be sufficient to give you firmer and perkier breasts. If you’d like to increase their size, implants may also be used.The biggest concern for patients with darker skin is scarring. While scars are inevitable, you can minimize their appearance. Make sure to follow your surgeon’s care instructions and keep all incisions out of the sun for at least a year. Tanning makes them look worse. (Leila Kasrai, MD, FRCSC, Toronto Plastic Surgeon)

When considering a Mommy Makeover, it is important to consider all of the options and also your specific goals and to be realistic with your goals. Your weight loss goal is a great idea prior to proceeding with your surgery as it is always ideal to be more height/weight proportionate prior to surgery.

From your description, it sounds like this is a reasonable situation for a Mommy Makeover surgery. I do shorter scar breast lift surgery and the risks are the same regardless of one’s race or ethnicity.

Although patients with darker or olive-colored skin do tend to have a higher risk of poor scarring, I have also seen this occur even on very fair-skinned patients. Therefore, I have found it to be rather unpredictable in terms of how a patient will scar. Nevertheless, for any cosmetic surgery, the trade off is always the scar and if you feel that is a reasonable trade off, you may be very satisfied with the improvement in your body contour and how your clothing fits as a result of your surgery. H(Amy Ortega, MD, Melbourne Plastic Surgeon)

You appear to be a good candidate for body contouring procedures. The decision making process does not differ significantly between african americans and caucasians, as the goal is always to reduce visible scarring as much as possible.

That being said, I am more aggressive in my practice with post-operative scar therapy in african americans due to the higher risk of scar thickening and hyper pigmentation.

A lack of keloid scarring history certainly builds confidence, but there is no crystal ball and the risk always exists of having a bad scar. (Bryan Correa, MD, Houston Plastic Surgeon)

In general, the ideal candidates for Mommy Makeovers are non-smokers who do not plan to become pregnant in the future, who have not breast feed for at least 6 months, who are at or near their ideal body weight and who do not have any medical conditions that impair wound healing.

A short scar incisions such as a “lollipop” a mastopexy, with or without implants, are a wonderful option for patients who have wide breasts and would like to convert the fullness that they have along the sides of the breast to the top of the breast, and for patients who would like their breasts to be narrower with more projection.

This incision type works equally well on the right candidate, regardless of ethnicity.

To determine if you are a candidate for a lollipop mastopexy or if you would benefit from other incision options, a consultation with a board-certified plastic surgeon would be needed.

As to your concerns regarding your striae, a tummy tuck will “improve” the appearance in so much as the surgery removing a portion of your stretchmarked skin. Scarring is an inevitable trade off with the procedure but most patients are happy to trade their excess skin for scars.

Fortunately, there continue to be advancements for scar reduction therapy. In particular, Embrace scar therapy is a medical device that has been clinically proven to decrease the appearance of surgical scars. We have used Embrace in our practice for all tummy tuck patients and we have noticed a dramatic improvement in the scars. (Camille Cash, MD, Houston Plastic Surgeon)

While you may be at increased risk for keloids, this is still rare, and I perform a significant amount of contouring surgery on African American skin with good results. As long as you don’t have a personal history of keloids, you would be a fine candidate.

Regarding the specifics for your body, you seem to be a candidate for a tummy tuck with liposuction and an augmentation mastopexy. These are frequent components of a mommy make over, and your upcoming 30 pound weight loss will only enhance your results.

The tummy tuck will tighten and flatten your belly, while removing many of your stretch marks. The addition of liposuction will further thin your torso and bring back your waistline.

As for your breasts, a lift combined with a silicone implant will give you an improved breast shape. Whether a lollypop or full mastopexy is needed would be based on your actual exam, but your breast shape and position can be restored.

Combining these procedures will give you your body back. These can often be combined as a single outpatient procedure with a roughly 2 week recovery time. Before you know it, you will be shopping for new clothes. (Jeffrey Rockmore, MD, Albany Plastic Surgeon)

There is no reason why you can not consider a mommy makeover. If you have stretch marks they may not all be removed with surgery but there still could be a substantial improvement in your skin tightness and abdominal contour. I’d suggest one or more consultations with a plastic surgeon to learn about the options. (William Andrade, MD, Toronto Plastic Surgeon)

Based on these photographs you would be a good candidate for the mommy makeover procedure. Your racial background is not an issue. (Gary Lawton, MD, FACS, San Antonio Plastic Surgeon)

I do this procedure quite routinely for African-American women. You look like a reasonable candidate for the procedures. As always, you have to consider the trade-offs. There will be some scars, from both the breast work and the tummy work. If you make a reasonable quality scar, the trade-off is probably in your favor, overall. If you are a known bad scar former (keloids & hypertrophic scars), you may feel that the trade-off is not as good. A consultation can help you sort out these issues. (Thomas Fiala, MD, Orlando Plastic Surgeon)

It is very wise of you to lose the weight before undergoing surgery because that will award you the best results. The amount of scarring depends on your individual healing response; the thickness and quality of scars you have developed in the past (from previous surgeries or injuries).

In African Americans receiving a breast lift or reduction there is also a small chance of hypopigmented areas, or white patches, occuring in the areola which can be treated with medical grade tattooing. Although rare, it is something to discuss with your plastic surgeon (Neil J. Zemmel, MD, FACS, Richmond Plastic Surgeon)

I agree that you are an excellent candidate for a tummy tuck and breast lift. I prefer the lollipop type of breast lift and feel it could be accomplished in your case. Whether to include implants would depend on how large you want your breast to be after the procedures. (Ronald J. Edelson, MD, San Diego Plastic Surgeon)

It appears from your photograph that you could be a good candidate for a “lollipop” incision in the performance of a mastopexy. After an examination by a well-qualified board certified plastic surgeon a determination should be able to be made regarding the best type of mastopexy in your situation.The extent to which your stretch marks will be removed will depend on how much loose skin you have in your abdomen.

The stretch marks associated with the skin removal will be gone. Very often remaining stretch marks are less obvious when the skin has been tightened.Patient’s with darker complexions have a greater chance of developing a keloid scar. If you have had previous surgery or skin injuries without the development of a keloid it is unlikely you will develop one with these procedures. (John J. Edney, MD, Omaha Plastic Surgeon)

Than I would recommed that you have Liposuction only but however it is needed that you visit a plastic Surgeon in your area for evaluation. (Bulent Cihantimur, MD, Turkey Plastic Surgeon)

Since you are planning to lose weight prior to surgery, you will have an amazing result. It is clear that you have been doing your research. The best advice would be to make sure you are finished having children and that you find a board certified plastic surgeon to perform your surgery safely.

I have many African American patients who benefit significantly from plastic surgery. For more information, go to my website and check out before and after photos of patients.(Tom J. Pousti, MD, FACS, San Diego Plastic Surgeon)