Sugar Land patients who look into a mommy makeover with Leo Lapuerta, MD, FACS find a surgeon based in Houston whose practice lists four offices, in Houston, Katy, Pearland and Piney Point. Patients choose the location that works best for them.
Dr. Lapuerta is triple board certified and has more than 30 years of experience, with more than 30,000 surgical and non-surgical procedures. He is Chairman of Plastic Surgery at St. Joseph Hospital in Houston, and Houstonia Magazine has named him a Top Houston Plastic Surgeon in multiple years. His practice’s published guidance answers several common assumptions about the mommy makeover, and a few of those assumptions do not survive a close reading.
Myth: a mommy makeover is a fixed package
Fact: The practice builds each plan around the patient. A typical combination includes a tummy tuck, liposuction and either a breast augmentation or a breast lift, but plans vary. Breast options also include a combined augmentation and lift or a reduction, and some patients add a Brazilian butt lift, a thigh lift or an arm lift.
In consultation, Dr. Lapuerta examines the patient, reviews her medical history and discusses her goals before the two of them decide on the combination. Patients also go over where the incisions will be made and their anesthesia options at that stage.
For the abdomen, the practice notes that a tummy tuck removes excess skin, repositions the belly button and may tighten the abdominal muscles, with incisions placed below the bikini line.
Myth: combined surgery means a hospital stay
Fact: The practice says most mommy makeovers are same-day outpatient surgery, performed under general anesthesia in an accredited surgical facility. Surgery time ranges from four to ten hours depending on the plan, with a typical case around seven. Dr. Lapuerta owns and operates a QuadA accredited facility and works with physician anesthesiologists.
There are exceptions. The practice advises patients with complex medical problems, or those having a significant amount of liposuction, to have surgery in the hospital and stay overnight for observation. Dr. Lapuerta holds privileges at hospitals in the Memorial Hermann network, at HCA hospitals including The Woman’s Hospital of Texas, and at St. Luke’s Houston Medical Center.
Myth: you can schedule it right after the baby arrives
Fact: The practice asks a woman who has given birth to wait at least six months after delivery, or six months after she finishes breastfeeding. Its guidance describes the best time as the period after a woman finishes breastfeeding her last child, and it notes that skin loses elasticity with age and that younger patients tend to recover faster.
Readiness also involves good health, a stable weight, and either not smoking or quitting for at least six weeks before surgery. The practice adds realistic expectations, a support system at home and the ability to take at least two to three weeks off work.
Myth: the surgery rules out another pregnancy
Fact: According to the practice, the surgery does not limit a woman’s ability to become pregnant, and a later pregnancy is not expected to harm her or the child. A new pregnancy would undo much of the result, though, which is why the practice recommends the procedure for women who have completed their families.
Dr. Lapuerta discusses what happens if a pregnancy follows a tummy tuck or breast augmentation, so a patient who is undecided can weigh the trade-off before booking.
Myth: combining procedures stretches out recovery
Fact: A combined recovery runs longer than the recovery from one procedure, but the practice says it cuts the total time compared with having each operation on its own timeline. Patients heal from everything on one schedule instead of starting over after each surgery.
Most women return to work within two to three weeks, depending on the job, and full recovery takes about six weeks in a typical case. Patients wear compression garments, expect swelling and bruising, and face limits on lifting and strenuous exercise in the early weeks. Final results tend to show within eight to 12 weeks.
No operation is free of risk. After surgery, the practice says, the team follows up with phone calls and appointments to monitor each patient’s progress, and those visits confirm that incisions are healing and swelling is going down.
This article is for general information only and is not medical advice. Results vary from patient to patient. Consult a board-certified plastic surgeon or your physician about your own situation. Written in partnership with Joseph Lambert, a publicist working with Leo Lapuerta, MD Plastic Surgery.
