How Severe is the Pain After a Mommy Makeover?

Mommy makeovers include breast lift,
breast implants, abdominoplasty (tummy tuck) and possibly liposuction. Postoperative pain and discomfort are quiet
variable. Most patients say it is
comparable or less than a C-section. I
describe breast implants like doing “a million” push-ups and abdominoplasty like
“a million” sit-ups; patients understand the gym analogy “no pain, no gain”.  Wishing you a uneventful recovery!

Recovery is unique to each patient.  The worst pain is typically reported during the first week of recovery.  I prefer to use Exparel for my patients which seems to help manage the pain well during the first few days.  Narcotic pain medication and other interventions typically help keep pain at a tolerable level for most patients.  There is some discomfort involved, but the general consensus is that the end result is worth it.  The important thing is to follow your surgeon's instructions and to listen to your body.

Thank you for your question.  Our office takes post operative pain management seriously.  Our current protocol includes a pain pump, (with numbing medicine), that will instill the numbing medicine in the area for the first three days after abdominoplasty.  Patients typically move off the pain medicine to Tylenol after a few days.  We try to avoid ibuprofen and aspirin products for a couple weeks post op.  Each patient has a different tolerance. Best to contact your Board Certified Plastic Surgeon as each surgeon will approach the operation and the post operative management differently.

Each patient responds to pain after a mommy makeover differently,
depending on the invasiveness of surgery and on her pain tolerance.
Since you have described yourself as having a relatively high threshold
for experiencing pain, I would say that the idea
of discomfort should not be a major deterring factor from moving
forward with a potentially life-changing procedure. Just think of the
pain as one small bump on the road to a newer, more confident you. Also,
it is important to note that there are various medications
your doctor can prescribe which are very
strong prescribed medications. Many doctors use pain pumps or Experal
for long action pain control of 4 days.

Thank you for your question.  Pain and/or discomfort are subjective sensations and highly variable from patient to patient.  Mommy makeover procedures commonly include breast lifts, breast augmentations, abdominoplasty and liposuction.  Patients will often cite that a typical 'mommy makeover' recovery is comparable or easier than a c-section recovery and each surgeon will provide you with a recommendation and/or medications to alleviate any post-op pain.   Patient's, expecially those with high pain tolerances, typically do quite well and end up saying that they thought that their recovery was going to be much worse than it was, but if you are concerned with post-operative pain I would recommend discussing your concerns with your operating surgeon.