Yummy Mummy

Created on 15th February 2012

Most of us love the way our bodies feel during pregnancy, the bountiful breasts and full figure; however not many women like the after effects quite so much, such as empty, drooping breasts and sagging tummies. We asked London’s leading female plastic surgeon (and mother) Ms Angelica Kavouni to guide us through our post-pregnancy options

Problem: Drooping breasts
Solution: Mastopexy or breast uplift

Empty breasts are the biggest complaint from those who have finished child rearing; some women choose to embrace the ‘scars of pregnancy’ whereas others seek help. In a ‘normal’average breast, the nipple and areola are positioned at a point level with the centre of the upper arm.

During pregnancy the breast skin stretches – in many cases the skin does not retract to its initial state and the breasts droop leaving the nipple at a lower level. Breast feeding can also reduce the amount of residual breast tissue leaving the reasts and most markedly the ‘upper poles’ quite empty.

Mastopexy (breast uplift) aimsto change the shape of the breast, reclaiming any residual breast tissue and placing it in a tighter pocket higher on the chest wall while slack and redundant skin is removed. The most common and effective incision is the vertical scar ‘lollipop’ technique which leaves a scar around the nipple and extends vertically to the underside of the breast. This procedure may remove a few stretch marks, but most remain although maybe less noticeable. This operation may be onsidered before you have finished childbearing as, dependent upon the technique, it may not interfere with breastfeeding. However be warned that breast uplift surgery will ot prevent the breasts from drooping again if presented with the same circumstances that made them droop in the first place.

Another option can be mastopexy with implants for those who do not have enough residual breast tissue to form a good-sized cup.

Treatment: Breast uplift
Price: from £5,000
Time taken: 3½ hours
Anaesthetic type: General
Hospital stay: One night

Problem: Small, empty breasts
Solution: Breast augmentation or boob job

Most women do not request unnatural sized ‘Jordanesque’ breasts – they just want to regain their pre-pregnancy breast shape and size. There are several ways to achieve this and the breast changes often go unnoticed by friends as the effects can be quite subtle and scars so minimal that they disappear very quickly.

Neither Jordan nor Posh have served to help the amount of negative controversy surrounding breast enlargement but they are extreme cases for what has become a very subtle procedure. Proportion, not disproportion is the key to successful breast augmentation in the twenty-first century. Women increasingly ask for a softer, more feminine shape and implant manufacturers have followed this trend so it is now possible to match an implant erfectly to each individual patient.

Treatment: Breast augmentation
Price: From £4,500
Time taken: 2 hours
Anaesthetic type: General
Hospital stay: Depends on the surgeon’s preference – day case or one night stay

Problem: Unsightly cesarean scar
Solution: Mini tummy tuck

Caesarean deliveries are often performed as an emergency and the obstetrician’s main concern (quite rightly) is the safety of both baby and mother. A mini tummy tuck will effectively remove the c-section scar and the new incision is hidden in the pubic line.

Treatment: Mini tummy tuck
Price: from £3,500
Time taken: 1½ hours
Anaesthetic type: General
Hospital stay: Day case

Problem: Still looking pregnant a year after delivery with sagging abdominal skin
Solution: Full tummy tuck

This is major surgery and the scar can be a problem, however advances in scar management combined with a sensitive surgeon means that the scar follows the bikini line and after a period of healing time becomes almost undetectable.

It’s tragic that some womenare made to feel like complete failures if they can’t achieve their pre-pregnancy shape. Often this is due to the fact that the abdominal muscles do not knit back together after labour. No amount of weight oss or exercise can remedy this – surgical intervention will bring these muscles back into alignment, remove any excess skin and areas of excess fat.

Treatment: Abdominoplasty
Price: from £5,000
Time taken: 3½ hours
Anaesthetic type: General
Hospital stay: One night

Problem: Drooping breasts and sagging abdominal skin
Solution: Yummy Mummy makeover or breast and belly combined surgery

The Yummy Mummy makeover has had much press of late – some positive and some not, however this combined procedure has become a popular way to achieve the body you want with minimal anaesthetic and ‘downtime’.

A recent study from America confirms my experience – that combined breast and tummy tuck procedures incur no greater complication or revision rate than when compared to single procedures.

Treatment: Breast uplift and
tummy tuck
Price: From £8,500
Time taken: 5 hours
Anaesthetic type: General
Hospital stay: One night