“The best way to ensure a good outcome is to choose a surgeon who is qualified (board certified) and has extensive surgical experience in both number of cases and years of experience.” Dr. Leo Lapuerta, a triple board-certified plastic surgeon practicing across the Houston area, offers that advice to patients deciding how to pick a surgeon.
For a Katy mother considering a mommy makeover, it makes a useful first item on a planning list. Dr. Lapuerta’s practice keeps an office in Katy where staff schedule consultations, and it publishes guidance on mommy makeover surgery for Katy patients aimed at local families. Each step that follows comes from the practice’s published guidance.
Before you book
- Check the surgeon’s record. Dr. Lapuerta holds certification from the American Board of Plastic Surgery, the American Board of Surgery and in Surgery of the Hand. He has more than 30 years of experience, more than 30,000 surgical and non-surgical procedures, and more than 3,000 before-and-after images for patients to review. He also serves as Chairman of Plastic Surgery at St. Joseph Hospital in Houston. Ask any surgeon you consider for the same kind of figures.
- Confirm your timing. The practice recommends the surgery for women who have completed their families. After a birth, it asks patients to wait at least six months after delivery, or six months after they finish breastfeeding.
- Settle the smoking question. Smokers need to stop for at least six weeks before surgery to minimize complications.
- List the areas that bother you. Loose abdominal skin, stubborn fat, sagging breasts and lost breast volume each point toward a different procedure.
In the consultation room
A mommy makeover combines several procedures in one operation. The practice describes the usual core as a tummy tuck, liposuction and either a breast augmentation or a breast lift. Depending on the patient, a plan may also include a breast reduction in place of augmentation, a Brazilian butt lift, a thigh lift or an arm lift. On the abdomen, a tummy tuck removes loose skin and tightens the abdominal muscles, while liposuction removes fat that diet and exercise have not touched. The practice says Dr. Lapuerta often includes liposuction of the flanks to shape the waist.
Dr. Lapuerta reviews the patient’s medical history, examines her and discusses her goals, then works with her to choose the combination. He also explains recovery and what happens if a pregnancy follows a tummy tuck or breast augmentation. Bring questions about scars, about implant choices if augmentation is on the table, and about where your surgery and follow-up visits will take place, since the practice operates more than one office in the region.
Booking the date
- Arrange time off. The practice tells candidates to plan on at least two to three weeks away from work.
- Line up help at home. A good candidate, in the practice’s words, has a strong support system to assist her until she can handle her daily routines.
- Plan for a long operation. Surgery runs four to ten hours depending on the procedures, with a typical case around seven hours, under general anesthesia in an accredited surgical facility. Dr. Lapuerta works with physician anesthesiologists.
- Know whether you will go home that night. Most patients do. The practice advises those with complex medical problems, or those having a significant amount of liposuction, to have surgery in a hospital and stay overnight.
The weeks after
For the abdominal surgery site, Dr. Lapuerta uses a time-released local anesthetic that keeps the area numb for three days after surgery, which helps patients manage pain with oral medication at home. Expect swelling and bruising, compression garments, limits on lifting and no stomach sleeping for the first few weeks.
The practice says most women return to work within two to three weeks, depending on the nature of the job. Full recovery takes about six weeks in a typical case, and vigorous exercise can resume around then. Final results tend to show within eight to 12 weeks.
Recovery varies from one patient to the next, and like any operation, a mommy makeover carries risks. A Katy family that blocks out six weeks on the calendar, with help assigned for the first two or three, has covered the stretch the practice describes.
This article is for general information only and is not medical advice. Results vary from patient to patient. Consult a board-certified plastic surgeon or your physician about your own situation. Written in partnership with Joseph Lambert, a publicist working with Leo Lapuerta, MD Plastic Surgery.
