The Surgical Artist's Blog

Theresa Dekker spent 20 years wishing her body, her health and her life would get better. The former military veteran says she’d always been fit until 1996, when she was prescribed medication for endometriosis, and instantly gained weight. Pregnancy packed on more pounds and by the summer of 2016, tipping the scale at 241 lbs, Theresa decided she’d had enough. “I woke up and said, ‘That’s it. I’m done’,” she recalls. Immediately she made a plan to transform herself, no matter what it took. “Mentally I always knew it was going to be difficult, but I had to stay focused and not allow myself to quit,” she says. Theresa made eating lean and exercising her top priority. Eventually working up to daily jogs and visits to the gym, her hard work paid off when just three months later, she’d shed an incredible 5o lbs.

You’ve finally set the date for that tummy tuck, liposuction or facelift you’ve been wanting for years. You know you’re in good hands at Southern Surgical Arts and you can’t wait to see the results of their expertise in time for your vacation this summer. But did you know that alongside your trusted medical specialist, you also play an important role in how flat or firm you become? Committing to your physical health and educating yourself before you go under the knife (or laser) will help give you the body you want and make the most of the money you’re spending to get it.

We see women of all shapes and sizes every day at Southern Surgical Arts. And while you can’t place every shape into a neat category, some of the most common body types that we see are the Hourglass, Rectangle, Pear, and Apple.  Patients in each shape category have their own individual beauty concerns, but we have noticed some trends that are common to each type.

One of the aspects of the field of cosmetic surgery that is the most rewarding is hearing from patients whom we have positively impacted. That is really why we do this—to help people find their confidence, to feel better about themselves, to love what they see when they look in the mirror. Feeling comfortable in your own skin is priceless! We love to hear our patients talk about how their procedures have changed their outlook on life. We found the testimonial below to be especially touching:

Patient Interview: Stacy Pope 

One of the most universal experiences of pregnancy is the challenge of regaining your pre-baby body. Many women give birth to find that their body does not “bounce back” like they hoped, even months or years after they last gave birth. Even if you did not gain excess weight with your pregnancy, the stretching of skin and muscle that occurs can result in permanent changes to your figure, especially in your abdomen. Below, we list three ways you can regain your pre-baby belly.

Many cosmetic surgeons offer a “Mommy Makeover,” a combination of procedures that can restore a mother’s body to pre-pregnancy (or better!) shape. But it takes true artistry to achieve the most beautiful and natural-looking results, as well as to keep the scars as unobtrusive as possible.

Are you ready to have your pre-baby body back but discouraged that your diet and exercise efforts haven’t been effective? Or, have you lost a significant amount of weight only to find you have excess, loose skin that hasn’t “tightened up” with time? In either situation, it’s common to have skin that has been pushed past its elasticity limit and can no longer bounce back.