Abdominoplasty isn’t recommended immediately following a C-section for a variety of reasons. These include the inability to make aesthetic judgments immediately following pregnancy, the mothers overall health status, and the demands of a newborn child on the mother.
The timing of surgery following pregnancy is important and several issues should be considered before proceeding with surgery. It takes time for a new post-pregnancy body to reach its new baseline following pregnancy, and during this transition it’s impossible to make aesthetic judgments. During this period, stretched skin may contract, a swollen uterus may shrink, and the weight gained during pregnancy may gradually disappear. This process takes 3-6 months and needs to occur before abdominoplasty is performed.
Ideally, patients should be within 10% of their ideal body weight and in good health otherwise. The majority of women who have undergone C-sections aren’t in good physical shape and are therefore not optimal candidates for surgery for a variety of reasons. These may include severe fatigue, a depressed immune system, possible blood loss, an increased potential for infection and elevated estrogen levels which can increase the risk of blood clots.
Finally, the demands of a newborn would make the recovery from these combined procedures very difficult. For instance, the use of post-operative pain medications would prevent you from breast feeding. In other words the abdominoplasty might impact your developing relationship with your newborn child.
For all these reasons, it’s obvious that C-section and abdominoplasty shouldn’t be performed together. If you’re considering abdominoplasty it’s important to give yourself time to fully recover from your C-section. Once this has occurred it’s appropriate to consult a board certified plastic surgeon.