Tulsa, OK | Mommy Makeover | Tulsa Surgical Arts

Angelo Cuzalina, MD, DDS: Probably my most common patient is the female that's in the range of maybe the upper twenties, low thirties, up to 50, after they've had children and they say, I'm just not happy with my breast. A common term that's passed around a lot in the media lately is mommy makeover. Really there's not a set definition but in general, when we say mommy makeover, we're usually referring to the simultaneous treatment of the breast and the tummy. The usual consult, we find out exactly what they're hoping to achieve. Do they want to be bigger? They want to be the same size. Do they want to be smaller, of course. And then next, are they interested in implants and then we go over the different types. They're the new form stable, which are the gummy bear type implants. There's the standard silicone gel which are called cohesive, and then they're saline implants, which are saltwater filled implants.

Angelo Cuzalina, MD, DDS: So we have a lengthy discussion if we think that they're a good candidate for implants in the first place. What type and then we help them with sizing and then we help them decide if they need a lift or not.

Angelo Cuzalina, MD, DDS: We want them to achieve what they're hoping for. You'd hate to get a patient in that just comes in thinking they need implants and they get implants but their breast are somewhat droopy. Well then six months later, they're unhappy because now they just have bigger droopy breasts. So it's key to find out from the very beginning what they're really hoping to achieve.

Angelo Cuzalina, MD, DDS: One of the most common questions that I get is, do I need a tummy tuck? One of the easiest ways to know if you need to tell me today is to frankly look at the skin on your belly. If there's a lot of stretch marks and loose skin below your belly button, typically you usually will need at least a mini tummy tuck. If you look and there's loose skin above your belly button and below your belly button, then you probably need a full tummy tuck. Obviously your doctor would have to check to make sure because there are other things that can be going on to such as scars in portions of your stomach that may be an issue as well as the stomach muscle itself being stretched out.

Angelo Cuzalina, MD, DDS: But in general, a tummy tuck does a few things. It typically tightens all the loose skin from your ribs all the way down to your pubic area. It also tightens the muscle from your ribs to your pubic area and it also removes the excess fat, particularly in the waist region. So it's a wonderful surgery if you need it. You just have to make sure you're doing the right surgery for your specific diagnosis.

Angelo Cuzalina, MD, DDS: The nice thing about a mommy makeover is that it is dramatic. You get several things taken care of at once and if you have a little bit of saggy breast or smaller than you want with some loose skin on your belly, having your breast lifted and filled up at the same time you're tightening your belly, gives you a much longer waist and can look very elegant, give you back your curves and be a wonderful procedure that I really love to do because you get some extremely happy patients after this type of surgery. So just make sure that you're healthy enough for it and then it's wonderful.