There's a new
plastic surgery trend just for moms called the "mommy makeover." It's
a package deal that started in the US but is now being offered by more and more
by plastic surgeons in Canada.
Plastic
surgeon Dr. Chong describes it as "a combination of surgeries that's
performed in a safe, controlled fashion, that is aimed at reversing some of the
negative effects of pregnancy and breastfeeding on a woman's body."
Kim Nelson
says that after having four children, some of those negative effects had taken
a toll on her body.
"You
know you work hard at working out and stuff and it was frustrating to know that
all the crunches in the world weren't gonna get rid of the excess skin,
right?"
So Nelson
decided to get a breast lift, augmentation and a tummy tuck "combo".
The procedures were done in a single three-hour surgery, with full recovery
taking about two months. Nelson says she's very happy with the results.
Mother of
five Linda Tulloch, who also decided to go for the plastic surgery package
deal, claims it's been life-changing for her.
The 41
year-old says she'd always been slim - but was never really been happy with her
body. And giving birth to five children didn't help.
"I just
didn't feel pretty anymore, you know? 'Cause my stomach, my belly button was
wrecked and my stomach was all loose skin. I could literally pull - I could
squeeze together and pull - the stomach."
Tulloch was
also self-conscious of her breasts, which she says were deflated from nursing.
"My
shoulders would be stooped, you know, I didn't carry myself proud."
Now, she is
proud to wear a bikini, and says her friends can't believe how much confidence
she now has.
"I've
done a lot of things for my kids, I'm not getting any younger and I felt it was
something that I needed to do for myself."
She and
Nelson are not alone. Dr. Chong says the "mommy makeovers" make
up about half of his business. Five years ago he did just a few a month. Now,
he does one to three a week.
In order to
qualify for the procedure, patients must be non-smokers, at a healthy weight
and have finished breast-feeding for at least 6 months. The cost ranges from
$10,000 to $25,000 dollars.
And as with
any surgery, there are always possible risks.
