Dr. M. Azhar Ali Discusses Tummy Tuck After a Baby

    BLOOMFIELD HILLS, MI, December 01, 2015 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Many mothers want to immediately be back to pre-pregnancy form following the birth of their children, leading to the rise of the mommy makeover. But when is the right time to have plastic surgery after your baby is born?

"Right after you give birth is not the ideal time to have surgery," says Dr. Ali, who regularly performs Michigan abdominoplasty procedures. "You might think when you have your c-section or while you're still in the hospital makes sense, but the body is not ready to have surgery yet."

And there are several reasons for this. First, your body will have a surge of hormones in the post-partum days. This can affect the elasticity of your skin, making it hard to know which skin will bounce back and which would be excess skin that your surgeon would want to remove.

You'll also be at an increased risk for bleeding, including from your uterus, immediately post-partum.

To have the most success, you'll also want to be as close to your ideal weight as possible, and this most likely won't be the case immediately after birth. Your body will need time to bounce back and lose the excess weight that was gained during pregnancy.

For the breastfeeding mother, hormones will stay at a higher level, and anesthesia and medications may transfer through breastmilk to your newborn.

Dr. Ali advises his patients to wait at least six months after having a baby before undergoing a tummy tuck, and longer if the mother is breastfeeding. This allows for the stitches to hold better because the tissue will no longer be as soft as during pregnancy, the influx of hormones will have receded, and the abdomen will have recovered from being stretched out.

"It is important to remember that a tummy tuck cannot be used as a weight loss procedure," says Dr. Ali. "While some fat and tissue is removed, the goal of a tummy tuck is to tighten loose skin to offer a flatter, smoother appearance. A tummy tuck is not a replacement for proper diet and exercise."

Dr. Ali also stresses that it is important to remember that what your body looks like in the post-partum days is not an indication of your future. The skin stretches and the uterus swells, and you may have extra weight you didn't have before. However, in the months following your pregnancy, these begin to go away and your body will begin to look as it once did. You can aid this by proper diet and adequate exercise.

It is also important to note that a tummy tuck should only be performed once a woman is finished having children. A subsequent pregnancy will alter the results, often leading to the need for an additional tummy tuck to correct the previous one.

The body needs time to recover from the nine months of pregnancy before undergoing a tummy tuck. Once ready, a tummy tuck can offer a beautiful, smoother, flatter tummy.

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If you have questions about when is the best time to seek out a tummy tuck, or are interested in regaining your pre-pregnancy body, contact Dr. Ali today to learn more about how abdominoplasty can help you.

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