An abdominoplasty or “tummy tuck” does require general anesthesia and can take up to several hours in the operating room. The length of time for the operation depends on the amount of skin that needs to be removed and how large a tummy you have.

If you are of “good health,” that is, if you do not have health problems with your heart and lungs, and have been cleared of any previous heart and lung problems, then you are a candidate for a tummy tuck or what I call a MOMMY MAKEOVER.

You also MUST be cigarette smoke free for at least 2 weeks before and for 2 weeks after the surgery. In fact, better results are had by those who don’t smoke at all in terms of better incision healing and fewer wound healing complications.

During a tummy tuck, I repair the rectus muscles that have become split as a result of pregnancy or perhaps were split even from birth. The result is a trimmer shape and waistline!

It is misleading to think that you will be able to sustain your new shape and size after plastic surgery if you are not willing to change your eating habit and/or exercise habits. While I will change your body absolutely remarkably in a way that you couldn’t have with diet and exercise alone, your shape will not be maintained if you don’t watch what you eat afterward.

My suggestion then is to get into the habit of at least walking 2-3 times a week to begin with for 10-15 minutes at a time. Once you get used to that level of activity then you should progress to at least 30 minutes 3 times a week then to everyday.

When I speak of changing eating and lifestyle habits, it can be as simple as portion control and giving up regular soda and skipping dessert 2-3 days a week and limiting the amount of carbohydrate intake without giving it up entirely.

A tummy tuck is an absolutely EXCELLENT way of getting rid of all your excess skin, stretch marks and fat that overhangs your midriff after children or weight fluctuations. In fact, it is the ONLY way to get rid of all that excess skin. You can lose the weight and tone up the abdomen with exercise and diet but  become extremely frustrated and discouraged when you see that torso has not changed one bit and in fact may look worse with the weight loss, when the skin looks even more saggy and flaccid.

Many of my patients such as yourself will come for a consultation when their weight loss or shape change plateaus with the exercise and diet and want to know what more can be done. This is an extremely important time not to “fall off the wagon, become discouraged” and bounce back to your previous  destructive eating binges and habits.

This is an ideal time to intervene with plastic surgery which can take you to the next level of a healthier lifestyle and new body. The tummy tuck is the “kick in the rear” that you need to stay on track and to maintain your healthier lifestyle.

When you can actually SEE the results of all your hard work with an incredible new body shape, you are much more willing and likely to maintain this new lifestyle permanently.

I hope this is encouraging and helpful and I will write more on the costs and recovery in my next MOMMY MAKEOVER BLOG.

Before Breast Augmentation

After Breast Augmentation

There are many different sizes and shapes of silicone and saline breast implants which are very safe that can give you very natural looking breasts. You can be pretty much any size you want to be with breast augmentation.

Dr Koo will show you many many before and after pictures of women who have had the same procedure that have breasts that resemble yours. She will also show you pictures of women who have similar height and weight as you to give you a better idea of the shape and size you might want for yourself.  Dr Koo will spend as much time with you as you want to determine what is the perfect breast implant size and shape is for you and whether you should have the breast implant placed under the muscle or breast tissue. These choices are determined by the shape of your breasts, how much breast tissue you have, how low or high you want your breasts and the incision she chooses for your breast augmentation.

She will be able to create the sexiest yet most natural looking and feeling breasts for you with the perfect breast implant for your body.

The first thing you should know about breast augmentation is that this will not be your last surgery. You will need to plan for at least 2 or 3 more surgeries in your lifetime depending on your age at the time of your first breast augmentation. Your breast implants will last approximately 20 years whether it is silicone or saline. Dr Koo recommends that you change the silicone implant at about the 20 year mark or when there is a change in the way the breast implants feel or look.

If your saline breast implants rupture, you will notice a change in size within 3-5 days of the rupture. The saline will be absorbed by your body and the ruptured side will be smaller than the breast that has not ruptured. You should then have BOTH breast implants changed and start at time zero with both breasts.

If you have silicone breast implants, you may not have to change your implants until there is a change in the way your breasts look or feel. Dr Koo’s recommendation is to change the breast implants at approximately 20 years or before if there is a problem. If, however, you are not having any problems, you can wait until there is some change.

Mammograms are recommended yearly starting at age 40. If you have a family history of breast cancer you might need a mammogram as early as age 30 or 35 depending on your breast examination. Dr Koo always follows her patients on a yearly basis without further charge and encourages women to see her every year to teach them how to examine their breasts and to educate them as to how their breasts feel with implants in place.

Dr Koo places the implants over and under the muscle and decides which is the perfect position for you depending on how much breast tissue you have, where your breasts fall in relation to the inframammary crease, and your desire to have higher or lower breasts. There are many many subtleties of breast augmentation and the type and placement of the breast implants that Dr Koo will determine for you and guide you for creating the perfect, sexy natural breasts that can be created with breast implants.

Call Dr Michele Koo, MD, FACS, Board Certified Plastic Surgeon, St Louis, Missouri for the most natural looking and feeling breast implanted breasts possible. She will take care of you throughout the years.

For more information about breast feeding and breast implants and the need for breast lifts after children and as the breasts age with implants in place, see the next blog coming up.