San Francisco Cosmetic Surgeon offers "Mommy Makeovers" to Women Seeking to Restore Their Pre-Pregnancy Shape After Childbirth.

As plastic surgery procedures become increasingly popular-and accessible-more and more women are opting for postpartum cosmetic surgeries, seeking to restore their bodies to their pre-pregnancy shape. Collectively dubbed the "mommy makeover ," these surgeries include liposuction, abdominoplasty (tummy tuck), augmentation mammaplasty (breast implants), mastopexy (breast lift), and labiaplasty. Dr. Usha Rajagopal, board-certified plastic surgeon , offers these procedures at the San Francisco Plastic Surgery & Laser Center in Union Square.

Pregnancy can take a steep toll on a woman's body. It may cause the breasts to change shape and lose volume, their skin to stretch and lose its elasticity, and their soft tissue to begin to sag, and in some cases, breastfeeding can lead to further changes, leading the nipples to become loose and droopy (ptosis). The abdomen and the skin over the stomach stretch during pregnancy as well, and they do not always return to their pre-pregnancy state after childbirth-when this occurs, women are left with excess, hanging skin and fatty tissue. Other concerns are bulges of fat that before pregnancy would have disappeared after diet and exercise, but which persist stubbornly on the hips, butt, and thighs after pregnancy; and stretching and enlarging of the labia during childbirth, which can cause discomfort due to the pinching or pulling that can occur with some activities and with some types of clothing.

Procedures like liposuction, tummy tucks, breast augmentations and lifts, and labiaplasty can offer solutions to these postpartum problems. Liposuction provides a means of effectively eliminating fat deposits on the stomach, hips, flanks, and thighs; tummy tucks remove the extra skin or tissue that has stretched beyond repair; breast augmentations and lifts restore volume and shape to breasts that have lost their former shape and size; and labiaplasty can reduce the discomfort and improve the appearance of the labia if childbirth has made it stretch or enlarge.

For many women, the changes in their body that accompany pregnancy and childbirth are unwelcome and embarrassing: They make them feel as if their body is no longer their own. "I loved having kids and nursing them, but my body was shot. My clothes didn't fit right, and I was embarrassed about how my chest looked," says Emily, one of Dr. Rajagopal's patients. This lowered confidence is common postpartum; women suddenly feel unattractive, and unhappy with the way their body has changed. After having breast augmentation surgery, however, Emily says her confidence has been restored: "It was a great decision I look and feel years younger."

With over 15 years of experience practicing as a plastic surgeon, Dr. Rajagopal has helped hundreds of women recover the body-and the positive self-image-that post-pregnancy changes made them think they had lost for good. She encourages women who are dissatisfied with their postpartum bodies to inform themselves about their options, whether their issue is love handles, sagging breasts, or excess skin that no amount of dieting or exercise could get rid of.

To this effect, the San Francisco Plastic Surgery & Laser Center offers free consultations for women interested in having surgery done; Dr. Rajagopal is happy to answer questions about the mommy makeover, and to help patients choose the procedure-or procedures-best suited to their individual needs. As with all cosmetic surgeries, it is important that a patient choose a skilled, board-certified plastic surgeon to perform these procedures.

Dr. Rajagopal is a member of The American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, and the American Society of Plastic Surgery. San Francisco Plastic Surgery & Laser Center is located at 490 Post St, Suite 430, near Union Square in San Francisco.