Post Pregnancy Surgery
Restore Your Pre-Baby Body with Post Pregnancy Surgery
in Wollongong or Bowral
Having a child is a life-changing experience. Unfortunately, pregnancy, child-birth and breast feeding can also cause changes to a woman’s body — these changes affect a woman’s breasts and her abdomen. There can be changes in the volume of the breasts due to fluctuating hormones and lactation – the breasts can increase in size rapidly and then deflate after breast feeding leading to loose breast skin, stretched out areolae and breasts that sit low on the chest. The abdominal changes can be equally marked with rapid expansion of the abdomen and stretching of the skin resulting in permanent stretch marks and problematic muscle separation leading to poor core strength and urinary incompetence. And unfortunately, these changes are oftentimes permanent and will not improve with diet or exercise efforts.
Post-pregnancy surgery refers to the combination of surgical procedures that can be considered for women following childbirth to help address some or all of these issues. Dr Adrian Sjarif is experienced in these procedures as a Specialist Plastic Surgeon, and is well placed to discuss these options with you and make recommendations as to timing of surgery as well as the surgical procedures that are most appropriate for you. Timing is particularly important as there are many more considerations to take into account when planning this surgery around the busy schedule of a working mum juggling work, children and family life.
Dr Sjarif offers a local option for women who live in either the Wollongong or Bowral areas of New South Wales where you can undertake your entire surgical journey close to home including your initial consultation, surgery and all post-operative visits.
What can Post Pregnancy Surgery Accomplish?
Every surgical treatment plan is uniquely customised to the needs and goals of the patient. Generally, post pregnancy surgery can accomplish the following:
- Remove loose abdominal skin (abdominoplasty)
- Repair separated or damaged abdominal muscles
- Remove areas of fat from the abdomen, waist, hips, thighs and buttocks
- Lift sagging breasts to a position higher on the chest wall (breast lift or mastopexy)
- Add volume and shape to flat or deflated breasts (breast augmentation)
- Reduce oversized, heavy breasts (breast reduction)
- Reduce oversized or stretched-out labial tissues (labiaplasty)
Post Pregnancy Surgery Treatment Details
As with all plastic surgery, your treatment will be tailored to your specific areas of concern and your desired aesthetic and functional outcomes. Your post pregnancy surgery could include any of the following components:
The breasts can change significantly after pregnancy and nursing. Most often, the breast skin stretches out leading to the breast volume and nipple dropping down to a lower position on the chest and onto the abdomen. This shift of volume can result in the breast looking flat and without shape. In other cases, the breasts increase considerably in size during pregnancy and remain large, even after breastfeeding has stopped. Any pre-existing breast asymmetry can also appear more pronounced. Breast surgery techniques such as those offered by Dr Sjarif can be used to correct asymmetry, improve shape and affect volume. Breast lift surgery can restore the shape of sagging breasts to their more youthful pre-pregnancy shape. If desired, breast implants can be placed during breast augmentation to increase the size of the breasts and add fullness to otherwise deflated breasts. Alternatively, breast reduction can resize large, heavy breasts. Breast asymmetry can be addressed at the same time as these procedures.
The abdomen undergoes changes during and after pregnancy, as the skin stretches over the growing belly and often does not retract after delivery. The abdominal muscles can also stretch out, weaken or otherwise become damage during pregnancy. These problems are compounded in women who have multiple pregnancies. An abdominoplasty procedure can address and help to rectify each of these problems to help create a flatter and firmer abdomen and waistline. Any loose, excess skin can be removed, abdominal muscles are repaired, and fat deposits targeted. The position and shape of the navel can also be adjusted as part of the abdominoplasty procedure, if required.
The hormonal changes that come with pregnancy and nursing can have an effect on a woman’s metabolism which can lead to accumulation of fat on the abdomen, the waist, hips, thighs, buttocks and elsewhere. Liposuction is a surgical procedure that can help to target and reduce these areas when diet and exercise are unable to address this hormonally driven weight gain.
Childbirth can cause the outer “lips” of the vagina (called the labia) to elongate or stretch out. Labiaplasty refers to the plastic surgical procedure performed to reduce oversized or balance asymmetric labia. Indications for labiaplasty include oversized labia, asymmetric labia, discomfort when wearing certain clothing, infections and rashes and in situations where confidence may be affected around intimate situations. Post pregnancy surgery may involve combining several procedures into a single operation, or staging the procedures separately, allowing you to recover in between each one. Dr. Sjarif can advise which approach is better based on your treatment plan and lifestyle.
Schedule a Consultation to Discuss Post-Pregnancy Surgery in Wollongong or Bowral
To learn more about post pregnancy surgery and what it can achieve, Dr Adrian Sjarif welcomes you to book a consultation at one of his office locations, conveniently serving Wollongong and the Illawarra, and Bowral and the Southern Highlands.
