Aesthetic surgery · consultation first
Surgery After Pregnancy
Abdominal wall repair, skin removal and breast surgery, in one plan or in stages. Performed by a plastic surgeon certified by the Royal College, at North Shore Plastic Surgery down the hall — a separate company that shares our address. Every case begins with a consultation — what pregnancy did to your body is specific to you, and so is the answer.
- Surgery
- 2–5 h
- Off work
- 3–6 wk
- Final shape
- 6–12 mo
What is actually being fixed
Three different things get grouped under one name. The abdominal muscles can separate down the midline and stay separated — that is a repair, not a tightening. The skin stretched over them may not retract, and skin that needs removing is removed. The breasts change in volume and position, and lifting and adding volume are separate operations that are often but not always done together. Which of the three apply to you decides the operation, the recovery and the price.
Royal College certified
Your surgeon is FRCSC and operates at Lions Gate Hospital.
Staged if that suits you better
Doing everything at once is one option, not the default.
One team afterwards
Scar care and skin work happen in the same building.
Surgical credentials above — Royal College certification, FRCSC, hospital appointments — are held by physicians of North Shore Plastic Surgery, an independent company that shares this address. They are not credentials of MMC Anti-Aging.
Usually a reasonable candidate
- Finished having children, or certain you are
- At a weight you have held for several months
- In good general health and a non-smoker, or willing to stop well before surgery
- Finished breastfeeding for at least six months, if breast surgery is part of the plan
- Able to arrange three to six weeks with real help at home
We would ask you to wait
- Still planning a pregnancy — the repair does not survive another one intact
- Still losing weight, or the number is still moving
- Under a year post-partum, when tissue is still changing on its own
- Without someone who can lift and carry for you during recovery, which matters more here than for most operations
- Expectations a surgeon has told you are not achievable
Before surgery
- Consultation and examination, including whether the muscles have separated and by how much
- A decision about doing it in one operation or in stages
- Stop smoking and certain medications — you will get a written list
- Arrange childcare and someone to drive you home and stay the first nights
The day
- 01AdmissionMarkings standing up, and final confirmation of the plan with your surgeon while you are awake.
- 02RepairIf the muscles have separated they are brought back together and sutured — this is the part that makes the recovery what it is.
- 03Skin and contourExcess skin removed, and liposuction to the flanks where it helps the result sit properly.
- 04Breast, if includedLift, implant, or both, decided at the consultation rather than in the room.
- 05Closure and dressingsDrains where needed, and a compression garment fitted before you wake properly.
Recovery
- You will be bent at the waist for the first week or so, by design
- No lifting anything heavier than a kettle for six weeks — including your children, which is the hardest part of this operation for most people
- Compression garment day and night for six weeks
- Walking from day one; nothing more strenuous until your surgeon clears it
- Swelling settles over months, not weeks, and the scar matures for a year
Risks worth understanding
before you decide
This is major surgery under general anaesthetic, and abdominal repair carries more than a skin operation does. Your surgeon will go through each one and how it applies to you.
- Bleeding, infection, and the risks that come with general anaesthesia
- Blood clots in the legs or lungs — the risk is higher for this operation than for most cosmetic surgery
- Wound healing problems, particularly at the point where the incision meets the vertical midline
- Fluid collection under the skin, sometimes needing drainage after you go home
- Numbness across the lower abdomen, which is normal at first and may be permanent in patches
- A scar from hip to hip, and around the navel — permanent, and its quality varies between individuals
- Asymmetry, or a contour you are not happy with
- The repair can be undone by a subsequent pregnancy or by significant weight change
- Changes in nipple or breast sensation, if breast surgery is included
Questions we get
Is this what people call a mommy makeover?
Yes, that is the common name for combining abdominal and breast surgery in one operation. We describe it by what is being done instead, because which parts you actually need varies and the package name hides that.
Can I book the surgery online?
No. You can book a consultation. Surgery is scheduled with your surgeon after examination and a written quote — booking an operation from a web form would not be safe or appropriate.
Is it covered by MSP?
Not for cosmetic reasons. Abdominal wall repair is sometimes covered when there is a hernia, and that assessment belongs to North Shore Plastic Surgery, who bill MSP directly.
How long should I wait after giving birth?
At least a year, and longer if you are still breastfeeding or your weight is still settling. Tissue keeps changing on its own for months, and operating early means operating on a body that has not finished.
Can it be done at the same time as a C-section?
No. It is a separate operation, planned separately, well after you have recovered.
Everything at once, or in stages?
Both are done. One operation means one recovery and one anaesthetic; staging means shorter recoveries you can fit around your family, and a chance to see how the first part settles. Your surgeon will give you a view for your case.
Will another pregnancy undo it?
It can, particularly the muscle repair. This is why the consultation asks directly whether you are finished having children.
How long is the recovery?
Three to six weeks away from work is the common plan. You are bent at the waist for the first week or so, by design. Nothing heavier than a kettle is lifted for six weeks — including children, which is the part most people find hardest. A compression garment is worn day and night for six weeks, and swelling settles over months, so the final shape is a six to twelve month judgement.
Request a consultation
Request a consultationWho does this
The operation is performed by a surgeon of North Shore Plastic Surgery, an independent company that shares this address; their hospital appointments and certifications are theirs, not ours. The consultation, the preparation and the follow-up at the Lonsdale Avenue clinic in North Vancouver are with MMC’s own clinicians — see the team page.
Other treatments here
Everything listed here is offered at the Lonsdale Avenue address in North Vancouver. Names, durations and prices come from the clinic’s live schedule rather than from this page, so what you see is what is bookable today.
- Breast Augmentation ConsultationConsultation first
- Eyelid Surgery ConsultationConsultation first
- Liposuction ConsultationConsultation first
Other places people start
These are sorted by what is bothering you rather than by treatment name. Each page says what actually helps, what does not, and when the honest answer is that nothing here is needed.
- Loose Skin After Weight LossLosing the weight is the hard part and you have done it. What is left is usually a skin problem rather than a fat problem, and those have completely different answers.
- Fatigue & Low EnergyThis is the concern where we are least likely to sell you anything, and we would rather say that at the top of the page than at the end of a consultation.
- Dullness & Uneven ToneDullness and dehydration are a texture problem, not a shape problem. That distinction decides which half of the menu is even relevant.
- Volume Loss & HollowsVolume loss is the change people describe as looking tired or gaunt without being able to name a line. It is also the one where over-treatment is most visible from across a room.
- Forehead & Frown LinesForehead and frown lines are muscle before they are skin. The question that decides your result is not the dose — it is whether the line is still only there when you move.
- Hooded Upper LidsThe line where this stops being an injectable question and becomes a surgical one is unusually clear, and you are entitled to be told which side of it you are on.
- Jawline & Contour LossThe most common reason people book here, and the one where the honest answer changes most with age. In your forties a device usually does it. In your sixties it usually does not.
- Nasolabial FoldsNasolabial folds are usually a symptom. Filling the fold itself is the most common way to end up looking heavy in the lower face.
- Stubborn Body FatA pocket that stays the same size while the rest of you changes. Usually the flanks, the lower abdomen, or under the chin. The useful question is not which machine to use — it is whether what you are looking at is fat at all.
- Under-Eye Hollows & ShadowsThe most common request here, and the one where the answer is most often no. Under-eye shadow has at least four causes and filler helps exactly one of them.