Mommy Makeover

1. Understanding Your Goals

• Your priorities: The consultation starts with what you would like to change, what matters most to you and what you hope surgery will achieve.

2. Clinical Assessment

• Clinical assessment: Dr Mercer assesses anatomy, tissue quality, asymmetry, scars and any factors that may affect the operation or healing.

3. Options, Limits & Planning

• Options and limits: Suitable surgical options, likely scars, trade-offs and realistic outcomes are discussed rather than assuming that surgery is the right answer.
• Planning: If you choose to proceed, clinical photography, measurements and a personalised operative plan are completed before a surgery date is confirmed.

Before planning

• Family timing: Surgery is best considered after breastfeeding has finished and when no near-term pregnancy is planned.
• Weight stability: Maintain a stable, sustainable weight before committing to combined body-contouring surgery.

4–6 weeks before

• Nicotine: Stop all nicotine for the period specified by your surgeon.
• Support network: Arrange substantial practical help, especially with young children and lifting restrictions.

2 weeks before

• Medical preparation: Complete requested tests and follow thrombosis-prevention and medication instructions.

Anaesthesia

• General anaesthetic: Combined surgery is performed under general anaesthesia with a consultant anaesthetist.

Combination plan

• Breast stage: The breast procedure may be a lift, augmentation or augmentation-lift.
• Abdominal stage: A tummy tuck can remove excess skin and repair rectus separation when present.
• Liposuction: Selected areas may be contoured if this can be added safely.
• Extent: The exact combination is agreed in advance and may be reduced or staged if a safer operative plan is preferable.

Week 1

• Recovery: This is a significant recovery period with abdominal tightness, breast swelling and restricted lifting.

Weeks 2–3

• Mobility: Walking becomes easier, but help with children and household tasks is still important.

Weeks 4–6

• Work and exercise: Return to work and exercise depends on the most restrictive procedure in your combination.

3–12 months

• Final result: Breast and abdominal tissues continue to settle and scars mature over many months.

First 2 weeks

• Help at home: Plan for substantial practical support; you will not be able to lift children or perform normal household tasks.
• Walking: Walk little and often while wearing prescribed compression and following clot-prevention advice.

Weeks 3–6

• Progressive activity: Activity increases gradually, but breast and abdominal restrictions both need to be respected.
• Reviews: Attend scheduled breast and abdominal wound reviews.

Early review

• What happens: The team checks wounds, swelling, comfort and any dressings during the first postoperative period.

1–2 weeks

• What happens: Incisions and early healing are reviewed; sutures or dressings are removed when appropriate and activity guidance is updated.

6 weeks

• What happens: Dr Mercer reviews recovery, scars and return to exercise, and checks that healing is progressing as expected.

3–6 months

• What happens: Progress photographs may be taken as swelling settles and scars continue to mature.

Around 1 year

• What happens: A longer-term review can be used to assess the mature result once tissues and scars have fully settled.