Can I Get a Tummy Tuck Minutes After Giving Birth?

Abdominoplasty isn’t recommended
immediately following a C-section for a variety of reasons. These include the
inability to make aesthetic judgments immediately following pregnancy, the
mother’s overall health status, and the demands of a newborn child on the
mother.

The timing of surgery following
pregnancy is important and several issues should be considered before
proceeding with surgery. It takes time for a new post-pregnancy body to reach
its new baseline following pregnancy, and during this transition, it’s impossible
to make aesthetic judgments. During this period, stretched skin may contract, a
swollen uterus may shrink, and the weight gained during pregnancy may gradually
disappear. This process takes 3 to 6 months and needs to occur before
abdominoplasty is performed.

Ideally, patients should be within
10% of their ideal body weight and in good health otherwise. The majority of
women who have undergone C-sections aren’t in good physical shape and are
therefore not optimal candidates for surgery for a variety of reasons. These may
include severe fatigue, a depressed immune system, possible blood loss, an
increased potential for infection and elevated estrogen levels which can
increase the risk of blood clots.

Finally, the demands of a newborn
would make the recovery from these combined procedures very difficult. For
instance, the use of postoperative pain medications would prevent you from
breast feeding. In other words, the abdominoplasty might impact your developing
relationships with your newborn child.

For all these reasons, it’s
obvious that C-section and abdominoplasty shouldn’t be performed together. If
you’re considering abdominoplasty it’s important to give yourself time to fully
recover from your C-section. Once this has occurred it’s
appropriate to consult a board-certified plastic surgeon.  

Thank you for your question.  I would recommend waiting until your body has recovered from birth and your pregnancy before considering a tummy tuck surgery.  Over the course of several months after giving birth, your body will change considerably, your weight will decrease, your uterus will shrink, and your stretched skin may contract.  These changes once they have stabilized will be evaluated to determine the best course of action and also provide you the best idea with what your results would be.  Performing a procedure too prematurely (as doing a tummy tuck immediately after giving birth) could compromise your final result.  Consult with only board-certified plastic surgeons.  Best of luck and congratulations on your pregnancy.

Dear Leese, Thank you for this very medically challenging and thought provoking question.  If this is your first child and you may have more, then I think a C-section with a tummy tuck is a bad idea.  On the other hand, if you have had 7 children and you are tired of the esteem-deflating appearance of your post pregnancy abdomen, then this may be a reasonable idea.  You need the buy in of a Board Certified plastic surgeon experienced in the Mommy Makeover.  You need an obstetrician who agrees with this procedure.  You need to be in excellent health and have a complete exam from an internist as well as your obstetrician, and the risk/rewards need to be explained to you by all 3 physicians.

To cut the length of a tummy tuck, I recommend your plastic surgeon get a second plastic surgeon to assist, therefore cutting the time down from 2 to possibly 1 hour for the tummy tuck.  Pregnancy is a relative hypercoagulable state, but during pregnancy neither clotting nor bleeding times are abnormal.  Your surgeon will obviously use all the usual inter operative precautions to decrease the chance of DVTs.  

To say this surgical combination should never be done I believe is an inappropriate comment, but given the right surgeons, the right patient, and the right conditions, this surgery might be appropriate.  There was a time when the standard philosophy amongst Board Certified plastic surgeons was that one always broke up breast augs and breast lifts.  This apparent conservative myth was laid to rest in a landmark paper by Dr. Grant Stevens of Marina Del Rey, California.  Subjecting you to two anesthetics and two surgeries carries its own risk times two. 

I recommend you see multiple Board Certified plastic surgeons in your area.  This will help you make a decision and will also assist you in looking at the surgeon's point of view.   

 

I do not recommend a mommy makeover immediately following pregnancy. If you allow your body to return to your pre-pregnancy weight first you will have a better looking result from a full tummy tuck.  If you are having only a mini tummy tuck it would be more reasonable, but I think it would still be better to wait. Good luck!

While it is possible to do this, I don't usually recommend it. This is because your body may gradually change shape in the months after giving birth, and it would be difficult to predict how these changes would affect your results. Waiting a few months after giving birth allows your body to go through the changes, then you'll have a more predictable, stable result.

    A tummy tuck should be delayed until an ideal weight can be achieved to give the best result in mommy makeover after pregnancy.

Although surgeons will occasionally add operations together concurrently, it is done so knowing that these combination procedures don't add significant risk.  A tummy tuck done concurrently with a C-section would be physiologically too much to justify the combination.

While this might sound like a good idea to a patient, it is not a very good idea medically.  You need to focus on your child and not worry about recovering from a tummy tuck.  The recovery time can vary but may last up to 6 weeks.  That is a burden that does not need to be added on top of raising a newborn.  Also from a cosmetic standpoint, your body will undergo many changes after delivery, so the optimal results can be best delivered at least 6 months later.  You may be surprised how your body responds and you may not even need to undergo the procedure.  Congratulations on your new baby!

To do this would be unethical in my opinion. I have seen women with three or four kids who do not even look look they have ever had a baby. I would say 4 to 6 months after your child may be the right time. It may take longer however for you to get back in shape if a C section was performed. Good Luck!

Hello,

Thank you for the question.  A tummy tuck can be performed in conjunction with a c-section but you must remember that your body is still geared up for pregnancy at that time meaning that you uterus is still large, your tissues are still swollen, and you may be caring some extra weight.  If you want the best result possible for the money spent I would wait at least a couple of months before having an abdominoplasty (tummy tuck).  This will allow your body to return closer to its pre-pregnancy status and will also allow you to spend time with your newborn without having to deal with the tummy tuck recovery.

All the best,

Dr Remus Repta