Pregnancy can change your body. Your next step is entirely up to you.
Sometimes it's the breasts that lost volume and projection. Sometimes it's the abdomen, with loose skin that diet and exercise can't fix. Most of the time, it's both. The mommy makeover is not a single, fixed surgery — it is the right combination of what your breasts need and what your abdomen needs, decided case by case and performed in a single surgery whenever it is safe.
What is a mommy makeover in Rio de Janeiro?
It is not a one-size-fits-all recipe — it is the match between two independent evaluations.
The term describes the combination, in the same surgery, of a breast procedure and an abdominal procedure, indicated to treat changes caused by pregnancy and breastfeeding. Which breast surgery and which abdominal surgery are combined depends on how much tissue is left over (or missing) in each area — not on a fixed package.
My breasts got smaller after breastfeeding — what might they need?
Your breast plan can be tailored to your goals — with or without implants.
Augmentation with implants
If there was volume loss without significant excess skin, breast augmentation with silicone implants is indicated — including tissue-preserving techniques such as the Motiva Preservé™ system, with minimal dissection and preservation of ligaments and sensation.
Breast lift with or without implants
If there was sagging without volume loss, mastopexy without implants repositions the nipple-areola complex using your own tissue. If there was sagging and volume loss, mastopexy with implants solves both — with high satisfaction rates of up to 85% in a systematic review1, a series without serious complications in more than 300 patients2 and high satisfaction in the prospective MAMAS study.
Breast reduction
When the breasts have grown larger and weigh on the spine, reduction is the way to go — with proven improvement in shoulder pain, back pain and quality of life in a meta-analysis of more than 4,000 patients.
And the abdomen — do you always need abdominoplasty?
No. Abdominoplasty is the last resort, not the first.
When there is only localized fat, without significant diastasis and without excess skin, ultrasonic liposuction (VASER) alone promotes skin tightening and contouring, with a complication rate of around 4.6% in a series of more than 250 patients, and can be combined with argon plasma.
When there is diastasis but the skin is still in good condition, video-assisted repair (MILA-type technique) closes the diastasis through small incisions, without the horizontal scar — with about 2% recurrence and around 1% intraoperative complications, and can be combined with ultrasonic lipo and argon plasma in the same surgery.
Moderate, localized excess skin: mini-abdominoplasty. Significant excess: full abdominoplasty, using the C-section scar when there is one.
Is it safe to combine all this in the same surgery?
Combining procedures may be an option for carefully selected patients. A comparative study of 726 patients concluded that the mommy makeover does not carry a higher safety risk than abdominoplasty alone. A prospective study confirmed that combined surgery is not inferior in safety and leads to better body image perception. Series using tumescent local anesthesia combined with spinal anesthesia show effective pain control, and an analysis of 670 patients reinforces that careful patient selection is the deciding factor.
How do you choose the right combination — and what is recovery like?
This is decided during the consultation, evaluating the breasts (volume, sagging, skin quality) and the abdomen (diastasis, excess skin, number of pregnancies) separately, always choosing the least invasive option that solves the real problem. Postoperative care follows Fast Track Recovery, enhanced by Metabolic prep when indicated.
Recovery varies with the combination: ultrasonic lipo with endoscopic diastasis repair tends to be faster than full abdominoplasty; for the breasts, tissue-preserving augmentation tends to cause less discomfort than mastopexy with implants.
At CPA – Advanced Plastic Surgery, in Botafogo, surgeries are performed at Hospital Glória D'Or (D'Or Network, annual JCI accreditation) by a surgeon who is a member of both SBCP and BAPS, with more than 6,000 surgeries, winner of O Globo’s “Faz a Diferença” (Makes a Difference) Award and featured in The Washington Post. Full career in Dr. Alexandre Charão's background.
Mommy Makeover Combination Table
The final combination is always one option from the breast column plus one option from the abdomen column — never a fixed package.
| Possible breast surgeries | Possible abdominal surgeries |
|---|---|
| Breast augmentation with implants (e.g. Motiva Preservé™) | Ultrasonic liposuction (VASER) + argon plasma |
| Mastopexy without implants | Video-assisted diastasis repair (MILA) |
| Mastopexy with implants | Mini-abdominoplasty (reduced scar) |
| Breast reduction | Full abdominoplasty through the C-section scar |
Frequently Asked Questions
01 — Is a mommy makeover always a mastopexy with abdominoplasty?
No. It is the combination of any breast surgery (augmentation, mastopexy with or without implants, or reduction) with any abdominal surgery (ultrasonic liposuction, video-assisted diastasis repair, mini-abdominoplasty or abdominoplasty), according to each patient's actual needs.
02 — Does every patient whose abdomen changed after pregnancy need an abdominoplasty?
No. When there is no significant excess skin, ultrasonic liposuction or video-assisted diastasis repair (without large incisions) may be enough. Full abdominoplasty is reserved for cases with significant excess skin.
03 — Is it possible to repair diastasis without an abdominoplasty incision?
Yes, with an endoscopic technique (MILA-type), with a recurrence rate of about 2% and intraoperative complications of around 1%, according to a recent meta-analysis.
04 — Do I need silicone breast implants?
No, it's not mandatory. The decision depends on the remaining breast volume: it can be augmentation with implants, mastopexy without implants, mastopexy with implants or, if there is excess volume, breast reduction.
05 — Does having both surgeries together (breasts and abdomen) increase the risk of complications?
Comparative studies with hundreds of patients showed no significant difference in safety between combined and single surgery, when the patient is well selected.
06 — Will I get a new abdominal scar besides my C-section scar?
Only when a full abdominoplasty is needed — and even then, the incision follows the level of the existing C-section scar. In the other combinations (liposuction or video-assisted diastasis repair), there is no new horizontal scar.
07 — What is the Motiva Preservé™ technique in breast augmentation?
It is a breast augmentation system that creates the implant pocket with specific instruments, preserving ligaments, glandular tissue and sensation, with reports of faster recovery compared to the traditional technique.
08 — Who is not a candidate — and does Fast Track Recovery help with recovery?
Patients with large symptomatic abdominal hernias, uncontrolled obesity or diseases that affect microcirculation need an individualized evaluation before any surgical combination. When the combination is indicated, Fast Track Recovery organizes recovery, and Metabolic Preparation prepares the body beforehand when it makes sense for the case.
Want to find out if this procedure is right for you?
Talk to the CPA – Advanced Plastic Surgery team and schedule your consultation with Dr. Alexandre Charão.
📅 Schedule your consultation on WhatsAppReferences
- Systematic Review: Periareolar Mastopexy with Breast Implants and Fat Grafting. PMC12738600. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12738600/
- One-Stage Mastopexy with Breast Augmentation: A Review of 321 Patients. PubMed PMID 18040205. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18040205/