by Sara Paulson

For Health First’s Dr. George Collis, the Increasingly Popular Procedure is Crafted to Suit Each Patient.


Plastic surgery used to be one of those topics you did not discuss. 

Not anymore. 

In 2017 alone, nearly 1.8 million cosmetic surgical procedures were performed nationwide, according to statistics provided by the American Society of Plastic Surgeons. Among the top five were procedures falling under the “Mommy Makeover” umbrella:

  • In 2017, a total of 300,378 breast augmentations were performed – a 41 percent increase since 2000.
  • In 2017, there were 105,219 breast lifts (mastopexies) performed – nearly double the amount done in 2000. 
  • In the past 17 years, tummy tucks (abdominoplasties) have seen a 107 percent increase – more than double the amount performed compared to 2000. A total of 129,753 were done in 2017, compared with 62,713 in 2000. 

With the growing social acceptance of women turning to a surgeon to reclaim their pre-baby bodies is a Mommy Makeover definition that continues to change. 

“It is tailored to what someone wants,” said George Collis, MD, a board-certified plastic and reconstructive surgeon at Health First Medical Group. “Traditionally, when people think about Mommy Makeovers, it means breast and abdomen.”

While breast augmentation, a breast lift (mastopexy) and tummy tuck (abdominoplasty) are the most commonly sought procedure, women tailor their modern Mommy Makeovers to include nontraditional enhancements. 

“Sometimes, we do a breast lift and Botox, maybe along the lines of a tummy tuck and a labiaplasty, or a tummy tuck and a vaginoplasty,” Collis said. 

It just depends on each person’s individual goals. Potential patients should keep the following in mind:

  • Best suited: The ideal modern Mommy Makeover candidate is a healthy patient with a BMI of 30 or under and is finished with pregnancies. 

“The better shape they are in to begin with, the better shape they are going to look afterward,” Collis said. 

For a tummy tuck, the patient should be “in good shape but just has that excess skin and skin laxity,” he said. 

  • Options: When improving the appearance of a woman’s breasts, there are several options. Breasts can become droopy after breastfeeding because lactation temporarily increases their volume; thus, stretching the skin before returning to normal size.

“The excess skin may need tightening, either in the form of an augmentation, which may be sufficient enough, or a lift and reduction,” Collis said. 

  • Go slow: While with most procedures there are initial precautions – taking it easy – almost all healing for most of these procedures should be about six weeks.

“You are not necessarily going to have a tough recovery for six weeks. At this point, your body has laid down all the collagen it needs to heal and has started remodeling that collagen,” Collis said. “It will be about 80 percent of its final strength at six weeks in general with any surgery.”

  • ‘After’ timeframe: What about results? Collis said they are “pretty immediate.”

“Scars fade with time and look better and better,” he explained. “It depends on how well someone takes care of themselves. If they continue to take care of themselves well afterward, tummy tuck results should age with the patient.”

With breast work, it depends on the procedure. 

When it comes to augmentations, Collis encourages patients not go too large when choosing an implant. As lactation can stretch out the skin, so can large implants.   

“Typically, you see people come back 15-20 years later, and their skin has given out,” he said of such cases.


Do it for you: 

For those who follow their physician’s advice, the Modern Mommy Makeover could be the key to achieving the look they want.  

“That is the key thing –  people are doing this for themselves and not for someone else,” Collis said. 

Interested in the Modern Mommy Makeover? Call Dr. George Collis’ office at 321.725.4500 Ext. 7470 or visit HF.org.