Mommy Makeover

Overview

In Episode 5 of the podcast, titled "Mommy Makeover," Dr. Larry Fan delves into the transformative journey of mommy makeovers, specifically tailored for women seeking to reclaim their bodies post-childbirth. The episode opens with an overview of common physical changes after pregnancy, such as stretched skin and sagging breasts, highlighting the emotional impacts like diminished body confidence. Dr. Fan dispels myths surrounding the procedures, discussing the importance of self-care in motherhood and addressing concerns related to safety and recovery. He cautions against choosing surgeons based on price and emphasizes the significance of planning and adhering to post-operative guidelines. The episode also touches on advancements in surgical techniques and recovery methods that facilitate more natural-looking results. Dr. Fan concludes by encouraging listeners to view mommy makeovers as a valuable investment in self-care and invites those considering the procedure to contact his office for consultations.

Notes

Introduction to Mommy Makeovers (00:04 - 05:02)

• Dr. Larry Fan introduces the concept of mommy makeovers for women whose bodies have changed after childbirth
• Post-pregnancy body changes include stretched skin, separated abdominal muscles, deflated and sagging breasts
• Discusses the emotional impact: loss of body confidence and feelings of disconnect from one's body
• Defines mommy makeover as a personalized transformation to help mothers reclaim their bodies
• Common procedures include tummy tuck with muscle repair, liposuction, breast augmentation/lift
• Additional procedures may include buttock enhancement, thigh lift, facial rejuvenation, or genital rejuvenation

Common Concerns and Myths(05:02 - 10:43)

• Addresses whether it's 'selfish' to invest in oneself - argues self-care helps mothers show up better for their families
• Debunks the myth that plastic surgery always looks fake or unnatural
• Explains the two main trade-offs: recovery time and surgical scars
• Clarifies that while scars are inevitable, they're typically hidden within bikini lines
• Discusses partner concerns - many husbands/partners worry about safety or feel their wife is beautiful as she is
• Emphasizes mommy makeovers are safe when performed by qualified professionals on appropriate candidates

Avoiding Mistakes and Making Informed Decisions(10:43 - 19:30)

• Warns against choosing surgeons based solely on price - shares story of patient who had complications after cheap overseas surgery
• Cautions against skipping necessary components of the procedure to save money or reduce recovery time
• Emphasizes mommy makeovers should be viewed as an investment in oneself rather than an expense
• Stresses the importance of planning for adequate recovery time
• Highlights the necessity of following post-operative instructions carefully
• Notes that mommy makeover costs typically run into 'multiple tens of thousands of dollars' in the US

Modern Advances and Conclusion(19:30 - 22:38)

• Highlights improvements in surgical techniques, anesthesia methods, and recovery protocols
• Modern approaches focus on natural-looking results rather than unnaturally flat/hard appearances
• Mentions advances in liposuction safety allowing for better contouring
• Discusses how regenerative medicine technologies (peptides, fat transplantation, growth factors) help speed recovery
• Concludes by emphasizing mommy makeovers are about self-care, not vanity
• Recommends finding a good surgeon who understands your goals and body to achieve desired transformation

00:03
Dr. Larry Fan
Welcome to the Fan Method, the aesthetics, health and wellness podcast dedicated to helping you look and feel your best inside and out. I'm your host, Dr. Larry Fan. Imagine looking in the mirror and seeing a body that no longer feels like yours. You've had kids, but your body never quite snapped back the way you hoped. You eat well, you exercise, but no matter what you do, your belly still looks stretched, your breasts have lost their shape, and you feel uncomfortable in your own skin. You're not alone, and today we're going to talk about what you can do about it. A lot of mothers go through what I call the silent struggle, feeling the desire and the pressure to sort of love your body, but feeling like the body you have isn't your own. 

00:50
Dr. Larry Fan
You know, I want to tell all the mothers watching that, wanting to look and feel like yourself again, it isn't vanity. It's really just self care. What we're going to cover in this episode is the mommy makeover. What are mommy makeovers? What are the biggest myths and fears and how to get sort of the best, most natural result? And also what everyone needs to know before considering surgery. So let's talk about what really happens after having kids. Now, I recently had a patient who came to see me, and she, you know, felt like the body she was living in wasn't her own. After having her kids, you know, she was someone always taking care of herself, was very fit. But after having two kids, her stomach was completely stretched out and she felt like she had no control over her body. You know, she. 

01:39
Dr. Larry Fan
After having her kids, she went to the gym, she ate right, but her tummy, you know, was still stretched out. And here's the truth about having kids and what happens to the body having kids, amazing for the spirit, but so hard on the body. The body, especially the tummy, ends up getting stretched out. And for a lot of mothers, the skin starts. Gets stretched out beyond repair. Along with that, the muscles inside, the abdominal muscles, you know, we call the rectus muscles, you know, they end up stretching and also separating from carrying the baby inside. After that happens, unfortunately, exercise will be ineffective in making that go away. On top of that, the breasts themselves often lose volume. They become deflated, they sag. And that's from breastfeeding. And then many mothers after having kids end up being just a little bit thicker. 

02:35
Dr. Larry Fan
They carry more weight after having kids, and so they have additional stubborn pockets of fat. And that can happen even after taking care of yourself. Not only does the body change, but the changes can have a profound emotional impact. So many of the mothers I talk to, they struggle with having body confidence. That can extend to sort of issues related to intimacy. And so many mothers wish they could want to get their bodies back. And yet when they think about doing something, you know, when they think about having surgery, Amani and Echo, for example, a lot of mothers, there's a part of them that they, you know, want to do that for themselves. But there's another part that feels guilty, that feels ashamed, that feel afraid. 

03:29
Dr. Larry Fan
And I want all of you watching to know that you don't have to sort of live that way. And I believe that everyone deserves to feel great in their own skin and that, you know, there's a difference between accepting your body and reclaiming your body. And I believe that everyone deserves to love themselves, and everyone deserves to take control of their own confidence. All right, so let's talk about what exactly is a mommy makeover? A lot of people think that a mommy makeover is just a tummy tuck in a boob job, but it's really so much more than that. Mommy makeover is a personalized transformation that's designed to help a mother get her body back. Every mommy makeover is customized to what the individual patient wants and needs. But here's what's most common. 

04:18
Dr. Larry Fan
So, first thing you know, the tummy is often stretched out and carrying some extra padding. A tummy tuck designed to remove the hanging pouch of skin, along with a muscle repair. Repairing the muscles that have been stretched and separated, you know, is very common foundational. On top of that, liposuction designed to sort of reduce those extra deposits of fat. Also very popular. And then the breasts. The breasts become deflated and sagging. And so restoring the lost volume with breast augmentation using an implant or fat transfer. And then sometimes combined with a breast lift and even occasionally a breast reduction. No, those are the most common parts of a mommy makeover. Additionally, though, every mother's different with what they want to achieve. 

05:05
Dr. Larry Fan
But other procedures like fat transfer to the buttocks, a bruise, butt lift or a thigh lift, or even some facial rejuvenation or other procedures like labiaplasty, vaginoplasty to sort of repair and rejuvenate the genitalia, also very common, sort of, you know, parts of a mommy makeover. So let's talk about how a mommy makeover gets tailored to you with any procedure. We need to start with, what are your goals? Also, what are your actual physical problems? What is your anatomy? Where is your body? Now, some women, you know, Just need an isolated procedure like a tummy tuck. Other women need a full body approach. You know, mommy makeover is definitely not a one size fits all procedure. So let's talk about the biggest fears and the biggest myths I hear from women considering a mommy makeover. 

05:57
Dr. Larry Fan
First thing, is it selfish to spend money on a mommy makeover? Here's the truth. Investing in yourself doesn't take away from your family. And in fact, when you take care of yourself, it helps you to sort of show up and as your best self so that you can take care of your family as well as be the best wife, partner, sort of employee, professional and mother. Another sort of common, you know, sort of myth is that after having a mom makeover that you will look fake. And the honest truth is you don't have to sort of look that way. We've all seen plastic surgery that looks, you know, that looks, you know, obviously fake. We've all seen plastic surgery that unfortunately looks botched. But it doesn't have to be that way. Now. No, no surgeon can guarantee a specific result. 

06:49
Dr. Larry Fan
But if you see an excellent surgeon, you have the right sort of treatments and the treatments are done the right way, then plastic surgery can come out very beautiful and also natural looking. A mommy makeover can be transformative and it really can make the difference between a mother feeling like, gosh, you know what, I really don't like my body. You know, I'm sitting, you know, when I sit in my chair, you know, at my desk, I feel this patch of skin hanging. When I put on my clothes, I don't fill things out. You know, my breasts are just so sad and empty. Mommy maker can be transformative towards making all of that better. But there are two main trade offs for going through the procedure. Number one, mommy makeover, it is a real surgery, so there is going to be a real recovery. 

07:39
Dr. Larry Fan
Then second, there are going to be, you know, if there is extra skin like a sagging, like a saggy tummy and we need to do a tummy tuck or if there's sagging breasts and a breast sleep needs to be done. The other main trade off is that it will create scars. Nobody wants to have scars. You know, I don't think there's a single mother in the world that says, hey, please give me a scar. I don't think there are any surgeons to say, hey, I, I would love to give you a scar. But the reality is if you have extra hanging skin, the only way to tighten things up is by removing that extra skin. And the only way to remove it is by cutting it out. And as a result it will create some scars. 

08:21
Dr. Larry Fan
But ultimately, the choice that every mother needs to make is if you have a sagging tummy, for example, a sagging, wrinkling tummy, would you rather have no scar and still have that sagging tummy, or would you rather have a flat, firm tummy, one that you can even wear a bikini with, but have a scar that's sort of hidden within that bikini line? And that ultimately is the real choice that, you know, every mother who is struggling with a sagging tummy has to make. So let's talk about another really sort of common concern. I meet a lot of mothers who want to have a mommy makeover because they frankly just aren't happy with their body. 

09:06
Dr. Larry Fan
And they see the sagging, you know, the sagging of their tummy, they see the deflation of their breasts and they don't want to live the rest of their life that way. So they realize that they want to have a mommy makeover. But it turns out that maybe they're married and they have a partner, a wonderful partner that they love and who loves them. But it turns out the partner sometimes isn't always as supportive or as enthusiastic about the makeover. And the reasons for that are very natural. I've meet a lot of partners who first, they think that their wife is beautiful and doesn't need to have any surgery and that they love them the way they are. They also are worried about sort of this, you know, worried about the safety and the well being of their wife. 

09:57
Dr. Larry Fan
And it's natural because, you know, my makeover is surgery. But ultimately, you know, what I think is important for every mother and her partner to know is that number one, you know, my makeovers overall considered to be safe procedures, provided, you know, you're an appropriate candidate, that you're in good health, that you also have the surgery done by a qualified professional in a quality setting, some makers are overall safe and the chance of there being some significant issue is low. And along those lines of a lot of partners and even mothers worry about, the other week I had a mother come see me and she's going to be having her my makeover in a couple of weeks. And at the end of her visit, she said to me, hey, Dr. 

10:47
Dr. Larry Fan
Fan, hey, just please make sure that nothing's going to happen to me so that I can see my kids again. And you know, and so she was afraid of something crazy happening like her having the surgery and not waking up or not surviving. And you know, I'm really happy that she actually expressed that fear to me because it gave me a chance to reassure her and to tell her that. Thank you for saying that. As a parent, I can understand that worry. As a parent, we would never want to not be able to be there for our kids. But it turns out that when you're in good health and if you're having elective surgery, the chance of something crazy happening, like not waking up from the surgery, it is on par with getting on a plane and the plane crashing. 

11:36
Dr. Larry Fan
And I actually told this to my patient and she said, oh, well, that's good to know. I still get on flights. And so that helped her sort of just feel a little bit more reassured. You know, another sort of, you know, aspect that comes up is money. We live in a world of finite resources and you know, as much as we all wish money would grow in trees, we know that it doesn't. And a mommy makeover, you know, is a real investment. You know, it isn't inexpensive. You know, typically it's going to be multiple tens of thousands of doll. And so it is a significant amount of money to spend. But what I encourage everyone to think about is it's not so much an expense or a cost, but what a money makeover really is. It's an investment in yourself. Sometimes. 

12:29
Dr. Larry Fan
To me, it's crazy that I have lots of patients that drive cars and they have cars and they go out and buy a car and often they buy nice cars. They have, you know, they buy Teslas or they have, you know, I don't know, a Mercedes Benz or something, and they will spend, you know, 30,000, 50,000, sometimes 80,000, 100,000 or more on their car and they don't think twice about it. But when it comes to investing in themselves and their own well being and their own happiness, you know, they feel guilty about it. And to me it's crazy because your own well being, your happiness, your ability to just look at yourself in the mirror or sit in a chair or put on your clothes and feel, you know, good in your own skin, to me that's actually priceless. 

13:17
Dr. Larry Fan
And you know, if I were feeling, you know, sort of self conscious about my appearance or feeling, you know, old or unattractive and, you know, and I've been there, you know, I personally, if I could afford it, I would without question even spend, gosh, more than a million dollars to sort of bring myself that sort of confidence and joy. And so, you know, it ultimately I'm a makeover. It's an Investment in yourself. So let's talk about some of the biggest mistakes I see women make when considering a mommy makeover. Last year I had a patient, you know, who came to see me and you know, she was concerned about what had happened to her tummy and her body after having kids. And, you know, she was actually a good candidate for surgery. And we made a plan for her. 

14:11
Dr. Larry Fan
It turned out though, that, you know, she didn't end up having the surgery done with me. She eventually came back to see me, and I'll tell you why in a moment. But she ended up deciding to go overseas. She went to the Dominican Republic to get her mommy makeover. And you know, the reason she said she went? To save money. The Miami makeover in the United States typically costs multiple tens of thousands of dollars. And you know, it does depend a lot on exactly what you need and what you choose, as well as, you know, who's doing the surgery. But she went overseas and the surgeon she saw, her mom makeover, only cost her about $6,000. But it turned out she ended up having problems. She ended up with a big infection. She ended up with these gigantic scars. 

15:07
Dr. Larry Fan
She ended up having these divots and deformities that required multiple corrective surgeries. So she ended up coming back to see me to sort of get things fixed. And it turned out that her $6,000 mommy makeover ended up turning into more than $60,000 of revision surgery. And I say this not to want to scare anybody or tell anybody what to do, but I want people to know that, you know, even though this overall is considered to be something safe, it is still real surgery. You know, when it comes to sort of surgery and healthcare, you want to make sure you get things done the right way. In fact, you really want to choose to get the best quality that you can. 

15:54
Dr. Larry Fan
And above all else, this isn't the area to sort of look for a good deal or to go shop in the bargain bin or to go to look for a clearance deal. This is your body, your well being, even your life at stake. So you know, that first mistake is choosing a cheap surgeon or the cheapest surgeon. So then let's talk about another mistake that I, you know, commonly see. I, you know, talk to a lot of mothers who either have gotten a mommy makeover or they're considering it. And in the process, so many of them told me they knew they needed to get a tummy tuck as part of the procedure. They knew they needed to get some breast enhancement, but they were, but Then they weren't sure about some of the other parts of things. 

16:42
Dr. Larry Fan
So the muscles, you know, some of the mothers I talked to, they were afraid of getting the muscles repaired. And I think that comes from knowing that the muscle repair, it, you know, it, it creates some pain and soreness. After surgery, they were also sort of not sure whether they should get liposuction along with it. And in that sense, you know, every part, every extra component of the procedure, you know, adds to the surgery, it adds to the recovery, it adds to the cost. One mistake I've had mothers tell me they ended up getting their mom makeover, but they skipped. You know, they decided not to get a liposuction or they decided not to get an extended tummy tuck where some more skin's removed from. 

17:24
Dr. Larry Fan
And then afterwards they ended up having some extra fullness that didn't fit the rest of their body that they didn't like. They didn't get the result they wanted. And so the mistake is skipping and sort of getting all of the procedures that you need for your goals and your body. So then let's move on. Let's talk about, you know, another common mistake. I see mothers not realizing that, hey, this is real surgery, in real surgery as a real recovery and a mommy makeover, particularly because of the tummy tuck. The honest truth is it is a very real recovery. In fact, one that for some mothers can be hard. But the important thing to know is, number one, it's temporary and it will sort of get better and eventually get back to normal. 

18:14
Dr. Larry Fan
And I tell every mother, if you've been able to have a child, you'll be able to have a tummy tuck. But sometimes I have some mothers who don't realize this and they plan their lives and they think that they're going to be fully recovered in a short period of time, like a week or two. And that isn't realistic and so important to know. Make sure you give yourself enough time to recover. So then finally, let's talk about one of the last mistakes that I sort of see. I've met a lot of mothers that had makeover procedures and then afterwards they ended up having some problems. And you know, fortunately most of these patients weren't my patients, but you know, they ended up having problems because they didn't follow their post operative instructions. 

19:04
Dr. Larry Fan
And so getting the surgery sort of is part of the equation, but on top of that it's, you know, the recovery is also a real part of sort of the journey. And so it is extremely important to take care of yourself after surgery. And your surgeon should, you know, guide you in that and support you with that and lead you through that. But it is important to follow those instructions and to get good post operative care. So let's talk about, you know, what's new with mommy makeovers or what's, you know, what's, you know, are mommy makeovers today, Are they different than they were 10 years ago? The modern mommy makeover continues to get better and better. 

19:45
Dr. Larry Fan
You know, our surgical techniques, our anesthesia methods, you know, continue to improve over time so that we're able to create better results, more natural results with a faster recovery. You know, that is something that, you know, has improved and changed over the last 20 years. In particular, some of the newest sort of refinements with mommy makeovers. Number one, when we sort of do the contouring, you know, in the old days, focuses on making things as flat and as firm as possible. And so with the tummy tuck, the extra skin would get removed and then, you know, and then some liposuction would be done. But a lot of times, you know, the skin removed was too, you know, too much skin was removed, so the look ended up being unnaturally sort of flat and hard and then on top of it. 

20:40
Dr. Larry Fan
In the old days, some liposuction would be done, but it wasn't really considered to be safe. There was concerns about how much liposuction should be done, so it'd be very limited. But in the modern mommy makeover, were able to tailor the skin just right so that we can get rid of the loose hanging skin, make things nice and firm, but at the same time not overly, sort of overly tight. And then on top of that, as our techniques and our knowledge and understanding have improved, we are now able to do a healthy amount of liposuction so we can create some beautiful contours. 

21:16
Dr. Larry Fan
As modern medicine has improved, we're now able to supercharge our healing, you know, using the power of regenerative medicine, medical technologies like peptides and fat transplantation stems, growth factors, use of growth factors that's enabled us to help patients be able to recover faster and get back to their lives. So that's an overview of mommy makeovers. Ultimately, mommy makeover is about much more than surgery. It's about reclaiming your body, your confidence and your sense of self. I want every mother to know that mommy makeover isn't about vanity. It's about self care. There is zero shame in wanting to feel great in your own body. And then ultimately the most important choice that every mother needs to make is choosing a good surgeon. 

22:10
Dr. Larry Fan
A good surgeon will understand your goals, understand your body, and be able to sort of design and execute a great procedure to be able to get. To be able to create the transformation that you want and need. If you would like to learn more, please feel to sort of send me a question. Alternatively, contact your office, book a consultation. We'd be happy to get you more information.