Mommy Makeovers are one of the hottest and most asked about procedures we at Atlantic Coast Aesthetics deal with. Our ACA Question of the Week comes from our Facebook viewers and is concerned with this procedure. The viewer asks, “How can I get excellent results for a Mommy Makeover? [I’m interested in a] breast lift, breast augmentation and tummy tuck with lipo of my entire torso. Also experience with AA skin. Pricing and what all does that include? Recovery time, pain management, what’s used for anesthesia? What antibiotics do you recommend post-op? [Also] local hotels/kitchenettes?” Dr. Thomas A. Pane, our founder and Chief Medical Officer, chose this question because it is very comprehensive regarding what happens during and after a Mommy Makeover, and also makes the point that we at ACA are glad to work with out-of-area patients if they’re willing to make the trip!
Dr. Pane said as far as pricing for a Mommy Makeover, it is hard to say off the cuff because there are so many variables involved. Does the patient want a vertical, crescent or full breast lift? Are the implants saline, silicone or fat-transfer? Will implants even be necessarily be desired after the lift is undertaken? How extensive is the tummy tuck? Questions like this can and do affect the pricing. However, in general the price is higher than any of the surgeries separately but less than all of them together, largely because the surgeon is already in the operating room and prepared for the procedure.
The other benefit of doing a Mommy Makeover all at once rather than as a series of separate procedures is that instead of doing several procedures, each of which requires its own separate healing time, Dr. Pane says “operate once, heal once.” This is good because the breast procedure tends to leave soreness from the implant going under the muscle, while the tummy tuck soreness is largely due to the tightening of the abdominal muscles. These are generally not as bad as, for example, a C-section or another procedure that requires delving into the abdominal or thoracic cavity, to give something of a baseline.
Typically a Mommy Makeover is done under general anesthesia. There is a select group of people who may be able to have this type of procedure done under other forms of anesthesia, but this is not considered the best way to go about it. The main reason for this is the time factor. Dr. Pane says he can usually complete a full Mommy Makeover in about three and a half hours from start to finish, but some cases may take up to five and a half hours or longer! That’s a long time to hold still, especially when someone is making cuts in your body.
As far as antibiotics and pain management, Dr. Pane provides his patients a general antibiotic for the first several days after surgery. While it is not clear that this is an essential step, he prefers to take a more proactive approach and prevent problems before they have the opportunity to develop. Likewise, post-operative pain is usually managed with Tylenol and narcotic combinations. If the patient is not experiencing undue or unusual discomfort, he prefers to encourage patients to get off them as quickly as possible because these painkillers can have undesirable side effects with long-term usage.
Finally, Dr. Pane says that when it comes to travel, ACA is glad to help make arrangements for a place to stay, as overnight hospital stays normally aren’t needed. Usually a Mommy Makeover is an outpatient procedure, meaning you go home the same day, so it is always better to have a companion to help monitor your condition. With any surgery under general anesthesia, it is a good idea to avoid travel immediately after if possible, although for “fly-in, fly-out” surgeries, there are precautions that can be taken to help alleviate the risk of blood clots in the legs both before, during and after travel. These precautions are discussed on a case-by-case basis.
If you would like to ask a question about cosmetic surgery, the staff of Atlantic Coast Aesthetics is always pleased to help get you the information you need. Simply follow us on Facebook and Twitter, email us at https://acplasticsurg.com or call us at (561) 422-4116. Your question could be ACA’s next Question of the Week, answered live on the air by Dr. Pane himself in an upcoming Google Hangout. Remember, at Atlantic Coast Aesthetics, we believe the only bad question is the one you don’t ask!