Houston Plastic Surgeon Norman Rappaport, MD, FACS, Helps Women Reclaim Their Youthful Figures with a Mommy Makeover

Houston, TX (PRWEB) May 8, 2009 -- The Mommy Makeover (http://www.normanrappaportmd.com/mommy-makeover), a combination of plastic surgery procedures designed to revive a woman's youthful shape after childbearing, is soaring in popularity among American women.

"Women today want to look as good as they feel," says Houston board-certified cosmetic and reconstructive plastic surgeon Norman Rappaport, MD, FACS (http://www.normanrappaportmd.com/meet-dr-rappaport). "And now they have the opportunity. After a Mommy Makeover, some women may find their figure is even better than their pre-pregnancy shape."

"A Mommy Makeover is not one procedure, or even a specific set of plastic surgery procedures," Dr. Rappaport explains. "It's basically what you would need to reclaim your figure after having children. Your Mommy Makeover is as individual as you are. It could involve any procedures, although the most common are breast augmentation (http://www.normanrappaportmd.com/breast/augmentation), breast lift (http://www.normanrappaportmd.com/breast/lift), liposuction (http://www.normanrappaportmd.com/body/liposuction) and tummy tuck (http://www.normanrappaportmd.com/body/tummy-tuck)."

"Some moms also opt for rejuvenating procedures like eyelid lifts (http://www.normanrappaportmd.com/eyes) or facelifts (http://www.normanrappaportmd.com/face/facelift) to help them look and feel refreshed," he adds.

"Women are becoming more accepting of the 'self-indulgence' of plastic surgery," says Dr. Rappaport. Just-released statistics from the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery report a 162% increase in plastic surgery procedures from 1997 to 2008.

"It becomes a choice of what you want to do," says Dr. Rappaport. "Do you want to take a vacation, go buy a dress -- or invest in yourself?"

"Louise," a 41-year-old mother of three and a breast cancer survivor, decided it was time to do something special just for herself. That's when she treated herself to a Mommy Makeover.

"Three pregnancies had stretched out my abdomen and I had this extra skin," says Louise. "Then I gained weight a few years ago. I joined a gym, really exercised hard and lost 25 pounds -- but I realized that my tummy was never going to be the way I wanted it to be, no matter how much exercise I did."

"While exercise will help strengthen the muscles stretched open during pregnancy, it cannot replace the effectiveness of tummy tuck surgery for the correction of damaged or loose skin," Dr. Rappaport explains.

"A tummy tuck removes the excess skin between the belly button and the pubic region -- along with the stretch marks," says Dr. Rappaport. "And it also tightens up the vertical muscles of the abdominal wall."

A tummy tuck was part of Louise's Mommy Makeover. "Now I'm sharing jeans with my 19-year-old daughter," she says.

Like many women, Louise experienced breast sagging after having children. But following her lumpectomy and radiation, she had yet another problem: uneven breasts. "When I wore a nightgown, you could see the difference in where my breasts were positioned," she recalls. "It hurt me to think I couldn't look attractive in my nightgowns anymore."

Louise didn't think anything could be done to correct the unevenness in her breasts. "I was under the impression that I couldn't have plastic surgery because my breasts had been radiated," she recalls.

"There is a higher risk in operating on radiated tissue," Dr. Rappaport acknowledges. "You have to be very judicious and respectful of the tissue to avoid additional trauma and to minimize wound-healing problems."

Dr. Rappaport performed a breast lift on Louise as part of her Mommy Makeover. "Now I enjoy my nightgowns a lot more," she says, "and I can wear tank tops. Because of my breast lift and tummy tuck, I look a lot better in my clothes. I get to wear more form-fitting fashions. My whole silhouette looks more youthful!"

"You get one life," Louise adds. "The better you look, the better you feel about yourself."

For more information on Mommy Makeovers, visit www.normanrappaportmd.com/mommy-makeover.

Norman Rappaport, MD, FACS, is a Houston, Texas cosmetic and reconstructive plastic surgeon board-certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery. He has been named a Texas Super Doctor by Texas Monthly and one of Houston's Top Docs for Women by H Magazine. Dr. Rappaport's office is located in Scurlock Tower in the heart of the Texas Medical Center. For more information, visit www.normanrappaportmd.com or call 713.790.4500.

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