Pregnancy After Cosmetic Surgery – What You Need To Know

For women considering a cosmetic procedure such as a breast augmentation or abdominoplasty (tummy tuck), the effects of any future pregnancy are often a concern. 

Will it interfere with the ability to become pregnant, carry a child or breastfeed? Will a pregnancy after cosmetic surgery undo the surgeon’s work or lead to unwanted aesthetic results?

To help you decide whether now is the right time for your cosmetic procedure, or whether you’d be best to wait until after completing your family, we list the key points to consider:

Pregnancy After Breast Enlargement

Many women in their 20s wish to have breast implants, often before they’ve met a long term partner or thought about starting a family. Although it may seem a little way off, you’ll probably still want to know what happens when/if you do become pregnant.

The good news is that a breast enlargement, if carefully carried out, should not affect your ability to breastfeed. It is important to discuss with your surgeon your plans for breastfeeding in the future, so he or she can advise on the implantation method that will have the least impact on the milk ducts – this will influence the incision site and the placement of the implants on the chest (under or above the muscle).

Because nipple sensitivity can take 6-18 months to return after a breast enlargement, it is advisable to wait a year or two after surgery before becoming pregnant. This will also enable scars and scar tissue time to fully heal.

Another concern is the affect pregnancy will have on the appearance of the breast implants, and this is something that varies widely from woman to woman.

During pregnancy the breast becomes engorged with milk, which often stretches the skin. When a woman’s milk dries up (whether she chooses to breastfeed or not) the gland shrinks and sometimes breasts will have less volume than they did pre-pregnancy.

This decrease in volume, combined with slacker skin can result in sagging for some women. While the breast implant stays in position, the breast may sag down off of the implant. If this happens, further surgery will be needed to correct the issue.

However, many women experience no marked change to the appearance of their breast implants after pregnancy and some even report to being happier with the appearance, since the stretching of the tissue can leave them looking more natural.

Pregnancy After Breast Reduction

Pregnancy can change your breasts in completely unpredictable ways – regardless of whether you breastfeed or not. It is not possible to say with certainty what would happen to the results of a breast reduction post-pregnancy.

There is a chance breasts will be increased in size after pregnancy and also experience some sagging. However, changes can be minimised by controlling weight gain during pregnancy (following the advice of your doctor) and by always wearing a supportive bra.

If you are planning on becoming pregnant in the imminent future, it is certainly advisable to wait before having breast reduction surgery to prevent the possibility of having to undergo a revision.

If you do decide to go ahead, let your surgeon know you may wish to breastfeed so he or she can tailor the surgery to increase your chances of being able to do so.

Pregnancy After Breast Uplift

Pregnancy causes the breasts to temporarily swell – the extent to which your breasts increase in size and the speed at which they do so will affect the laxity of your skin once milk production has ceased and the breasts deflate.

In all likelihood your breasts will experience some changes and sagging is a risk. These issues can be corrected with a second breast lift (sometimes combined with implants), but if you are planning on becoming pregnant within a couple of years, it’s probably best to wait.

Most breast lift techniques preserve the ducts and glands meaning breastfeeding should still be possible, but always advise your surgeon of your plans.

Pregnancy After Tummy Tuck

Patients considering a tummy tuck often wish to know if it will impair their ability to become pregnant, carry a baby or give birth in the future. The answer to all of these questions is no, there is no danger to the baby and you will have a normal pregnancy. However, it is advisable to wait until you are fully healed; around 4-6 months after.

In terms of the aesthetic effects, pregnancy will stretch out the skin and muscle of your abdomen and you may experience some recurrent laxity.

Some women who have had tummy tucks are perfectly happy with their appearance post-pregnancy. If you are not, corrective surgery can be performed, which may well be shorter and less complex than your original operation.

Your decision to have a tummy tuck should be based on how soon you expect to become pregnant. If it won’t be for another 5+ years, then enjoying the aesthetic improvement now may well be worth it. On the other hand, if it’s likely to be in the next couple of years it makes sense to wait.

Still have questions surrounding pregnancy and cosmetic surgery? Drop Ocean Clinic Marbella a line via our Contact Page or on Facebook.

Lives Transformed by Ocean Clinic Marbella’s Reconstructive Surgery Mission to Kenya

Nearly 40 people living with disfigurements in a poor area of Kenya have had their lives transformed thanks to a reconstructive surgery mission, led by Dr. Kai Kaye, Head Surgeon at Ocean Clinic Marbella.

Dr. Kaye teamed up with his friend and colleague, Dr. Stasch, of Nairobi’s Valentis Clinic on the nine-day charitable campaign. Working in collaboration with the Kenyan Society of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgeons (KSPRAS), they put together an eight-person surgical team, including an anaesthetist and two Plastic Surgery Residents from Nairobi and three nurses from Ocean Clinic Marbella.

The team travelled to Lamu, a rural archipelago on the northeastern coast of Kenya, which has few medical facilities and high levels of poverty. Here, they met with more than 100 men, women and children suffering with disfigurements such as congenital malformations, tumours, burns, scars and other deformities.

“Patients were presenting with facial deformities, tumours covering the whole body, chronic wounds and ulcers, umbilical and scrotal hernias and chronic disfigurative diseases like M. Recklinghausen,” says Dr. Kaye.

“We spent the first day meeting with them and selecting the patients with the most need, before getting straight to work and beginning to operate.”

Thanks to an agreement with the government, the team was able to use the facilities of the Lamu District Hospital to perform the operations. They were able to successfully operate on 39 patients. 

“All surgeries went as planned without major complications,” says Dr. Kaye. “The aftercare will now be taken over by the team at Anidan Paediatric Hospital.

“We are really delighted with the number of people we got to treat and by the difference these surgeries will make to their lives. For some people it will be the difference between being able to work or not and therefore provide for their families, for others it’s about social inclusion and being able to live a normal life.”

The charity camp, which was also organised in collaboration with Spanish NGO Foundation Pablo Horstman, was entirely funded by donations. Marbella companies and individuals, as well as patients of Ocean Clinic helped to raise €4000 Euros to support the mission.

The money was used to purchase and transport 300 kilos of materials and equipment, ensuring the team could operate on as many patients as possible.

Meanwhile, the surgical team gave up their time for free and paid for their own flights and accommodation. 

The trip to Kenya follows a similar campaign to Peru that Dr. Kaye and his colleagues undertook in 2013, when they operated on 60 patients.

“Seeing them smile and shine with confidence makes our work incredibly rewarding,” he says. “The Lamu experience this year has strengthened our plans to convert it into an annual mission organised in collaboration with  Foundation Pablo Horstman and supported by the generous people of Marbella.”

Butts Will Be Big in 2016

Longing for a pert posterior? Dreaming of a bigger booty? The “Brazilian butt lift” looks set to be much in demand this year, if figures recently released by the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) are anything to go by.

Gluteoplasty – the official name for the procedure – has skyrocketed in popularity in the US, with the number of people having the treatment increasing 36% last year. Nearly 5,000 people in the States had the buttock-enhancing procedure in 2014.

Buttock augmentation is less frequently requested here at Ocean Clinic Marbella, although interest in the procedure is growing and our Head Surgeon Dr. Kaye is experienced in undertaking the surgery – in fact, it’s one of six cosmetic treatments he’s been demonstrating to plastic surgery residents at Aga Khan University Hospital in Kenya this month. 

Rise of the butt lift

The trend for voluptuous bottoms has been driven by celebrities such as Kim Kardashian, Nicki Minaj and Heidi Montag, who are said to have undergone buttock augmentation themselves.

The surgery is designed to fill out flat or deflated buttocks by using implants or transplanted fat, or both. It also involves liposuction to shape and sculpt the buttocks and hips.

Implants or fat?

Whether you will require gluteal implants or not will depend on how much fat you have on your body. Fat can be taken from the abdomen, love handles, outer thighs, back and inner thighs, if available. The amount of fat required to reshape the buttocks depends on the patient’s anatomical shape and differs from person to person.

If you do not have enough fat available to achieve the desired results, then implants can be used instead, with smaller amounts of fat used to add shape and smooth over the implant.

Contouring the buttocks

Even if you are only having implants, fat will be removed via liposuction from around the buttocks to create the right silhouette.

Removing fat from the lower back and upper thighs will help achieve more prominence and definition when the fat reinjected into the buttocks. 

How safe is the procedure?

Since it involves transplanting your own tissues, fat grafting has low complication rates. Implants are also safe providing the right type are used. They must be semi-solid and made from high resistant silicone that does not rupture. They are specially designed for the purpose and are not the same as breast implants.

Additionally, they must be correctly placed, under the great gluteal muscle, meaning they are not detectable under the skin.

How much scarring will there be?

There will be very small scars across the body in the locations where fat has been removed, as well as marks where the fat is reinjected.

In the case of implants, there will be one single scar, 5-6 cms long, placed in the middle fold of the buttocks, so it is as concealed as possible.

How long will the results last?

There will be a certain amount of fat reabsorption – around 40% in the first few weeks, but what remains takes a blood supply and becomes permanent.

If you lose weight, the fat will shrink in line with the rest of your body, however the fat cells remain. If you then gain weight, the fat will grow again.

You may actually become more inclined to store weight in your buttocks following the procedure, since the transplanted fat taken from the tummy and flanks tends to be that which is resistant to diet and exercise.

How long is recovery?

Patients need to avoid sitting for around two weeks after the procedure – standing or lying down only! After that, you can sit on a specially shaped pillow with a hole cut out that removes pressure from your buttocks.

At this point you may return to work, providing you have a desk job. You can resume more physical activity after four weeks.

Post-procedure exercise

Following treatment you should aim to keep your bodyweight stable. Regular exercise is great, but long bouts of fat burning activity should be avoided to maintain the transplanted fat in the buttocks.

Squats and lunges are idea exercises for people who have had buttock augmentation as it can build the gluteal muscle and give an even better result.

Buttock augmentation can lift, recontour, and volumise your behind, giving you a more youthful and shapely body profile. Book an appointment at Ocean Clinic Marbella to find out more.

 

Dr. Kaye Showcases Surgical Skills in Kenya

Dr. Kaye, Ocean Clinic’s Head Surgeon, practices a number of pioneering cosmetic surgery techniques and as such he is often asked to share his knowledge with his peers around the world.

This month he was invited to Nairobi in Kenya by The Kenya Society of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgeons (KSPRAS). Dr. Kaye was asked to lecture as a visiting professor on facelift and complex rhinoplasty for the plastic surgery residents at Aga Khan Hospital and Kenyatta Hospital.

He was not only lecturing on the latest surgical techniques, but also demonstrating them. Dr. Kaye operated live on six patients, performing rhinoplasty, facelift, facial fat transfer, gluteal correction and breast lift surgery.

It is the second time Dr. Kaye has been invited to lecture in Kenya by KSPRAS – he visited last August to present his signature PAVE-Lift (peeling-assisted volume enhancing) facelift concept, which combines surgery with facial peeling and fat grafting for an enhanced aesthetic outcome. 

In addition to teaching, Dr. Kaye is also passionate about pro bono work and he will remain in Kenya where he is leading a charitable mission later this month.

Joined by his clinical team, they will travel to Lamu, a poor rural archipelago located in the northeastern coast of Kenya. Here there are many children and adults in need of life-changing reconstructive surgery.

During the nine-day mission, which runs from March 18-27, Dr. Kaye will operate on patients with disfigurements such as congenital malformations, tumours, burns, scars and other deformities.

Says Dr. Kaye: “Many of these conditions are quite easily treatable but because there is such poverty in Lamu, people just have to live with them. As a result, they often remain disabled and unable to provide for their families.

“We are hoping to treat as many people as possible and give them the chance of a normal life so they are able to help themselves and their families.”

All members of the surgical team are donating their time for free and paying for their own flights and accommodation, but Ocean Clinic is asking for companies and individuals to get involved by helping to buy vital medical supplies.

“Any donation, no matter how small, will help us to treat more people and change more lives,” says Dr. Kaye. “Anyone who donates will be able to see the result of that donation as we will be posting photos of the transformations we are able to carry out. We think seeing those smiles is priceless!”

You can support this life-changing mission via our Generosity page or make a direct donation by transfer to the following bank account: 

IBAN: ES 08-0128-0799-3801-0000-7181

SWIFT: BKBKESMM

REF: Ocean Clinic Lamu 

Banish ‘Bingo Wings’ with an Arm Lift

Sagging underarms affect many of us as we age and skin loses its elasticity. The condition is a particular problem for those who have lost significant amounts of weight or have experienced weight fluctuation over the years. 

Stretched skin loses adherence to the underlying tissue, and is also affected by gravity, resulting in loose flaps that hang down from the armpit to the elbow. This is especially noticeable when the arm is outstretched.

Sufferers often feel it makes their arms very unsightly and are reluctant to expose their upper arms, always keeping them covered with long-sleeved tops. But so-called ‘bingo wings’ needn’t be endured, since this is an issue which can be easily corrected with an arm lift procedure.

Arm lift surgery is a popular treatment at Ocean Clinic Marbella that offers great results. Read on to discover how is performed…

What is an arm lift?

An arm lift or brachioplasty is an operation to remove excess fat and skin from the upper arm in order to improve its shape and contour.

It is an effective solution for men and women with flabby underarms that will not respond to diet and exercise.

How is an arm lift performed?

There are several surgical techniques that can be used to perform the procedure, including a standard upper arm lift and a mini-arm lift. Your doctor will help you choose the right solution for you based on your cosmetic goals and the amount of excess fat and skin on your arms.

All methods involve making two incisions; a vertical one on the inside part of the arm and another, horizontal one, in the armpit. The length of the incisions will depend on the extent of fat and skin being removed.

In a standard upper arm lift, the incision extends from the elbow into the armpit. Although the incision is long, it is positioned towards the back of the arm so that it is concealed as much as possible.

The excess tissue and skin is cut away and, in some cases, liposuction is used to remove additional fat and re-contour the shape of the upper arm. Next, the wound is sealed with fine stitches. 

In total the operation takes around two hours and it can be performed either on an outpatient basis (where you go home the same day) or, if you prefer, you may stay overnight at the clinic in one of our luxurious guest rooms.

How much scarring will there be?

Patients will be left with a fine scar running along the length of the inside upper arm, which should only be visible when the arms are raised. It will start off deep pink in colour but will gradually fade.

Scar care, including regular massage, is an important component of the treatment and may be employed for over one year to ensure the final results are as aesthetically pleasing as possible.

Our patients tell us they are highly satisfied with the procedure and that it offers them far greater freedom when choosing clothes, especially for those who struggled to find tops to fit properly because of the size and shape of their upper arms.

Removing wrinkled, sagging skin makes patients appear considerably younger as well as fitter and slimmer.

How long is the recovery?

Recovery from a brachioplasty is relatively short - just two or three days of downtime is required, with patients usually only experiencing minor discomfort and limited swelling and bruising. 

If you have a desk job you will be able to return to work within a few days, but if your job is physical you may have to factor in up to four weeks off, since shoulder movement is restricted during this time. Your surgeon can advise you on exactly how much time off you are likely to require.

All bruising and swelling should be gone after six weeks and at this point you can resume activities such as heavy lifting, arm exercises etc.

How much does an arm lift cost?

An arm lift costs in the region of €2,500 to €3,500 depending on the extent of skin and tissue that needs removing. Contact Ocean Clinic Marbella to arrange a free consultation with a surgeon and receive an exact quote for your procedure.

Arm lift surgery can have a stunning impact on your overall appearance. Click here to see more before and after photos of our patients.