The Science Behind Post Pregnancy Plastic Surgery
You hear a lot in the media about Hollywood superstars bouncing back to a more-beautiful-than-ever appearance in what seems like an instant after they’ve given birth. As many women know, bouncing back after baby is rarely easy. There are in fact, many dramatic physical changes that accompany pregnancy and childbirth. Sometimes, even following a healthy diet and regularly exercising is not enough to reverse these effects. To restore a pre-baby appearance not attainable with exercise and diet, Atlanta Plastic Surgery offers post-pregnancy plastic surgery.
A woman’s body must gain sufficient weight to be able to support the life growing inside her. Not only does the baby gain weight as it grows, but the woman’s body gains weight because of the addition of the placenta, amniotic fluid, and breast tissue, as well as an increase in uterus size and blood supply. In terms of added fat, during a healthy pregnancy the body stores an additional 5 to 9 pounds of fat to help supply itself with energy during delivery and breastfeeding.
Cosmetic surgery after pregnancy helps women who have had children to reclaim their bodies and return to their previous silhouette. Specifically tailored to each individual patient, post pregnancy plastic surgery can include a combination of cosmetic procedures to help each patient achieve her desired look.
As the uterus expands to accommodate the baby, the abdominal muscles also stretch. However unlike the uterus, the abdominal muscles have a harder time returning to their normal size once the baby is delivered. During a tummy tuck (or abdominoplasty) one of Atlanta Plastic Surgery’s plastic surgeons can eliminate sagging skin around the stomach area and retighten stretched abdominal muscles to produce the patient’s desired look.
Liposuction can also help eliminate stubborn, exercise-resistant pockets of fat and improve the contours of the body enlarged by the aforementioned increase in body fat during pregnancy. Performed in more than just the abdomen, liposuction can help sculpt the thighs, hips, buttocks, and love handles. Generally, liposuction involves a small incision where fluid is injected into the area to reduce pain and bleeding. Then, the fluid and excess fat are removed via suction through a small metal tube called a cannula.
Post-pregnancy plastic surgery can also help with the changes associated with breastfeeding during the first months of motherhood. Depending on the mother’s needs and desires, surgery can include a breast reduction where tissue and skin are removed from overly large and pendulous breasts, breast lift that helps return sagging breast to a more aesthetically pleasing position, and/or breast augmentation surgery which enhances the breast size, proportioning the breasts with the body.
Because cosmetic surgery after pregnancy is so specialized, a consultation with one of Atlanta Plastic Surgery’s cosmetic surgeons allows you to discuss your needs and receive a recommendation for the appropriate procedure(s) to achieve your desired look. For examples of our surgeons’ results, check out our before and after gallery.
If you’d like to know more about post-pregnancy cosmetic surgery or other procedures we offer, feel free to contact us for more information or a consultation.
Atlanta Breast Surgery Combinations: Why Certain Cosmetic Issues Require More Than Implants for Correction
With so many options for Atlanta breast surgery, the highly skilled surgeons of Atlanta Plastic Surgery know that just because patients want to enhance their appearance, they don’t always know what needs to be changed to reach their cosmetic goals. Plastic surgery is not as simple as A + B = C. Since every plastic surgery patient is different, every procedure is a little different. I’m sure you’ve heard of traditional breast procedures like breast augmentation, breast reduction, breast lift, and breast reconstruction, but have you ever heard about combination breast surgery? These procedures mingle elements of multiple breast procedures to help patients address all of the underlying issues contributing to dissatisfaction with their breasts.
Breast Reduction with Lift
Women with overly large breasts (known as macromastia) often seek breast reduction surgery to relieve the symptoms associated with their condition, including neck or back pain, poor posture, irritation or rash, skeletal deformities, low self-esteem, and limitations on physical activity. Women who have dealt with their overly large breasts for a long time may experience breasts that begin to sag. Fortunately, Read more
What Can Breast Lift Surgery Do? Answers to Your Questions about Atlanta Mastopexy
Oftentimes women come to the surgeons at Atlanta Plastic Surgery unhappy with the appearance and fullness of their breasts. While breast augmentation with breast implants can increase fullness, some women may not desire or even need this kind of volume enhancement. Another option for women with such concerns is breast lift surgery.
A breast lift (mastopexy) can help restore a more lifted, youthful look to women whose breast have begun to sag due to the effects of age, pregnancy and breastfeeding, weight loss, and gravity. During the procedure, excess skin is removed and the supporting tissue is tightened to move the breast to a more aesthetically pleasing position. Depending on the patient’s specific needs, one of our plastic surgeons may also reposition the areola and reduce the areola’s size if necessary.
The breast lift procedure places the breasts higher on the chest and creates a tighter and firmer appearance. Women who wish to enhance the size of their breasts as well and the position may opt for a breast augmentation with lift. Likewise, women with overly large breasts that have begun to sag can choose to have a breast reduction with lift. Many women also undergo breast lift surgery as a component of post-maternity breast and body reshaping, or cosmetic surgery after pregnancy. Plastic surgery after pregnancy is customizable to suit each woman’s needs and can include one or many of a series of procedures such as breast augmentation or breast reduction, tummy tuck, and/or liposuction.
For more information on the breast lift procedure, view our before and after breast lift galleries or contact our offices in Alpharetta, Newnan, or Atlanta (Northside) for a consultation.
Breast Reduction Plastic Surgery Explained
Given the procedure’s name, it would seem like breast reduction surgery would be a pretty straight forward cosmetic surgery procedure; however, like plastic surgery after pregnancy, there is no single technique that will satisfy the cosmetic needs of all breast reduction patients. The plastic and reconstructive surgeons here at Atlanta Plastic Surgery would like to take a moment to explain the different techniques and types of breast reduction surgery. One thing that remains relatively consistent with all types of breast reduction surgery is the goal to permanently remove the excess fat, skin, and glandular tissue contributing to a woman (or man’s) overly large breasts.
Breast Reduction for Macromastia
Most women who pursue breast surgery because of macromastia (presence of excessively large breasts) commonly complain of issues including: compromised posture, skin irritation, back pain, and neck pain due to the weight and size of their breasts. To alleviate these symptoms and allow for easier movement, a plastic surgeon removes the excess tissue, reshapes the areola (areola reduction), and repositions the nipple. Macromastia patients, especially those women seeking to reverse the effects of pregnancy and childbirth, will also have breast lift surgery at the time of breast reduction to reposition their new, smaller breasts to a lifted, more aesthetically pleasing location.
Post Bariatric Breast Reduction
Many post-bariatric cosmetic surgery patients will elect to have breast reduction surgery to remove the excess, hanging tissue that causes their breast to appear deflated or sagging after massive weight loss. Read more
2011 Boston ASAPS Conference Explores Ways to Avoid Breast Asymmetry after Breast Augmentation Surgery
Last week, Atlanta plastic surgeons and colleagues from across the US converged in Boston for the annual American Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ASAPS) meeting. Dedicated to advancing the field of cosmetic surgery, ASAPS attendees devoted a portion of the event to discussing plastic surgery technology and ways to minimize the risk of emphasizing breast asymmetry after breast augmentation.
Breast asymmetry is not an unusual condition. In fact, a majority of women naturally have a slight asymmetry that goes unnoticed, meaning one breast is not identical in shape and/or size to the other. However, this inconspicuous asymmetry can become problematically pronounced when breast size is increased through the insertion of a breast implant. In a press release posted last week, the event’s speakers announced their plan to focus the outlet on developing ways for plastic surgeons to discuss breast asymmetry during a plastic surgery consultation so that breast revision surgery can be avoided as much as possible.
Among the methods proposed for maximizing communication between patient and plastic surgeon about this breast surgery complication is the use of 4-dimensional imaging software pre-surgery. Read more
Cosmetic Surgery after Pregnancy
Motherhood is a beautiful experience, but it is tough work (quite an understatement, we know). First with the morning sickness, weight gain and labor pains, and then once the pregnancy part is over mothers barely have a chance to catch their breath because they’re busy taking care of a new life. With all of the new responsibilities motherhood brings, keeping up with one’s appearance often shifts to the bottom of the priority list. Whether its Read more
Breast Surgery: More than just Breast Enhancement and Implants
If you say “breast surgery,” breast implants may be the first thing that comes to mind, but there’s much more to breast surgery than just implants. The plastic and reconstructive surgeons at Atlanta Plastic Surgery perform breast procedures on both women and men for aesthetic and reconstructive purposes. Whether the surgery is elective (i.e.- breast augmentation) or necessary (i.e.- breast reconstruction), our breast surgeons (Dr. Beegle, Dr. Elliott, Dr. Namnoum, Dr. Maske, and Dr. Williams) perform these procedures to enhance the body’s appearance and give the patient a more proportionate shape. Some common Atlanta breast procedures include: breast augmentation, breast lift (mastopexy), breast reduction, male breast reduction, breast revision, and breast reconstruction. Read more
Atlanta Plastic Surgery Doctors in the News Discussing the 2011 Atlanta Breast Surgery Symposium
Board certified plastic and reconstructive surgeons Dr. Jim Namnoum and Dr. Franklyn Elliott of Atlanta Plastic Surgery will moderate the live Atlanta breast reconstruction and breast augmentation surgery procedures at the 27th Annual Breast Surgery Symposium January 14th- January 16th at the Intercontinental Hotel in Buckhead .
Hosted by the Southeastern Society of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeons (SESPRS), the Atlanta event strives to keep cosmetic and reconstructive breast surgeons around the globe up-to-date with the most accurate and effective breast surgery methods and tools. In addition to Atlanta Plastic Surgery, the Breast Surgery Symposium features lecturers from plastic surgery centers across the world including: Atlanta, Los Angeles, and Sao Paulo.
Co-Chairman of the event, Dr. Namnoum sees immense potential in the burgeoning surgical topics to be detailed during the event including: fat transfer for breast augmentation, breast reconstruction using local anesthesia, and fat-grafting/ engineered tissue use in breast reconstruction.
Dr. Namnoum, speaking about Read more
Quantitative, Volumetric Data Useful in Breast Augmentation and Breast Cancer Prevention
The plastic and reconstructive surgeons at Atlanta Plastic Surgery perform a variety of breast surgeries including: breast augmentation (enhancement), breast reduction, breast lift (mastopexy), breast revision, and breast reconstruction. You may be familiar with the A,B,C lettering label system associated with bra size, but if recent news from the FDA is any proof, numbers are the most useful tool in cosmetic breast procedures and breast cancer prevention.
Breast implants, saline or silicone filled shells inserted atop or underneath the pectoral muscles of women, are used in Atlanta breast augmentation or Atlanta breast reconstruction to enhance the appearance of the breasts. Implant size, unlike bra size, is best described in terms of volume (measured in cubic centimeters). Because each woman’s frame, weight, natural breast shape, and skin elasticity will affect the overall appearance of an implant, volumetric data is most useful in determining optimal implant for breast enlargement surgery.
Like implant measurements, quantitative data is becoming more and more valuable for radiologists in the prevention of breast cancer. Announced via press release on November 19th, the Food and Drug Administration approved a new mammography breast imaging software (Volpara™), which calculates and tracks the breast density of patients to better identify masses in the breasts of patients with naturally dense breast tissue.
Until this development, radiologists could only instruct patients with dense tissue to undergo additional (and costly) imaging like an MRI or ultrasound to thoroughly review any questionable areas and ensure the breast was cancer-free. While the inventors of the technology don’t explicitly point to the machines use with breast surgery patients, one could speculate that the software’s advantageous ability to track density changes over time would also be useful for breast reconstruction patients who may have extensive scar tissue from previous surgeries which could muddle the results of traditional mammography. Additionally, the technology seems to show promise for patients with breast implants who currently have to undergo an MRI every two years to check for changes to their breast implants.
Atlanta Plastic Surgery’s surgeons continually expand the planning and imaging technology they utilize in pediatric and adult reconstructive surgeries. To read more about emerging plastic surgery and reconstructive surgery technology, visit the Atlanta Plastic Surgery website and continue to read their practice-wide blog.
