“Mommy Makeovers” at Santa Barbara’s Cosmetic Surgery Center

Plastic surgeons across the country have seen a rise in plastic surgery amongst women who have gone through childbirth. The media has dubbed it the “mommy makeover:” a series of surgical procedures used to restore a post-pregnancy body to its pre-birth appearance usually consisting of a breast lift or breast augmentation, a tummy tuck and/or body sculpting with liposuction.

Many moms have chosen to reclaim their body through cosmetic surgery because the unwanted bulges in the areas of the abdomen, hips and/or thighs become much harder to shed after pregnancy. Unfortunately for some, the weight gain from pregnancy can cause the skin to be overly stretched out (especially in the abdominal area), and exercising and eating healthy cannot correct this. In those cases, the only solution may be to have the skin excised and the fat removed through a tummy tuck procedure.

Santa Barbara’s Cosmetic Surgery Center offers many plastic surgery procedures that can help moms to obtain the body they had before childbirth and even add additional improvements. Dr. Terry Perkins, cosmetic surgeon and founder of the Cosmetic Surgery Center, has been specializing in cosmetic surgery since 1978 and is an expert in helping patients restore their bodies to their pre-pregnancy state while providing them with a natural non-operated look.

Here are some common cosmetic surgery procedures Santa Barbara moms like best:

Tummy Tuck: Bulges in the abdomen and flanks are extremely common after pregnancy and they can almost always be treated with liposuction. If Dr. Perkins decides to remove excess abdominal skin, the procedure then becomes known as a “tummy tuck” where an incision is made along the upper edge of the pubic hairline. The doctor may also sew together the abdominal muscles to further flatten the abdomen. Dr. Perkins also performs a “mini tummy tuck“, which is a smaller incision, and requires slightly less down time. Whether you have a mini or full tummy tuck, plan to schedule plenty of downtime for yourself to allow for proper healing.

Stretch Mark Reduction: Women use copious amounts of lotion to avoid stretch marks during pregnancy, but the truth is they are often unavoidable and extremely difficult to treat. Dr. Perkins has developed an effective treatment for reducing the appearance of stretch marks in as few as four treatments. The procedure involves a proprietary formulation of vitamin and mineral injections and Multiwave LED Therapy with a 50%-90% improvement seen in four treatments or less.

Hips and Thighs: Liposuction can be used to reduce the circumference of thighs that have developed extra weight during nine months of pregnancy. Liposuction contouring can be done in the knees, calves and ankles as well but it is not for novice surgeons. Over-treatment can result in problems that are hard to correct. Liposuction is also a useful procedure for removing pockets of weight on the hips many women refer to as “love handles.”

Breast Lift: While Dr. Perkins does not do breast augmentation with implants, he can perform a very effective natural breast lift using the patient’s own body fat that he removed from their liposuction procedure. Dr. Perkins usually obtains enough fat to allow the patient to go up one cup size and the placement of the fat in the breast area can be very strategic – allowing Dr. Perkins to fill in certain spots or correct unevenness.

A “Mommy Makeover” often restores the body-image confidence that a woman had before she had children, which can have a positive effect on not only the woman, but for the children that she is caring for.

Dr. Perkins encourages women who feel unhappy with their post-pregnancy bodies to book a consultation with him to discuss their cosmetic surgery options.

Cosmetic surgeon Dr. Perkins sees patients at his Cosmetic Surgery Center office in Santa Barbara. 805.563.0000.

The post “Mommy Makeovers” at Santa Barbara’s Cosmetic Surgery Center appeared first on .