Mommy Makeover: More Empathy for a Nurse
By C. Downey © 2008
PlasticSurgery.com Staff Writer
K.S. was a single, stay-at-home mom with two children who wanted to go back to work. However, she was concerned about entering the workforce looking aged.
"I remember my own mom at 47 already looked like a grandmother, so I was wary about what my genes had in store for my appearance in only about ten short years," K.S. says.
A then 43-year-old K.S. shows the state of her tummy before surgery, in the left picture. The right picture was taken after surgery, six weeks later. (Photos, courtesy of David Luethcke, M.D.)
Houston Plastic Surgeon
“I felt my stomach was really stretched out, protruding and saggy.”
But go out into the world she did -- and in a big way. K.S. pursued a lifelong dream, enrolled in a Houston college, graduated and became a licensed vocational nurse in 1992. She then worked at a major Houston hospital for four years and, after that, for an ambulatory day surgery center.
Then at the surgery center where she worked, she met Houston plastic surgeon, David Luethcke, M.D., who eventually asked K.S. to work in his practice. She has been there as his nurse and office manager since 1999.
In 2002, she re-married.
Tummy Tuck Surgery
By 2004, K.S. had seen many patients come and go and decided that she wanted to surgically repair some of the after-effects of maternity with a "mommy makeover." She underwent a breast lift (mastopexy) and tummy tuck (abdominoplasty) - two of the most popular mommy makeover procedures.
“After the tummy tuck and breast lift, I felt more attractive and much sexier..”
"My husband was not totally behind the surgery at first but I decided to go ahead with the breast lift and a tummy tuck for reasons entirely of my own, "K.S. says. "I felt my stomach was really stretched out, protruding and saggy.
"The worst thing was that people were always asking me, 'When is your baby due?' and I wasn't even pregnant!" K.S. says. "My last child was born in 1988!"
She was always trying to cover up what she describes as a frumpy mid-section with baggy clothes and large shirts.
"I just could not wear the clothes I liked and there was no way I was going to be seen in a bathing suit," she says.
"But after the procedure, I proudly wear a two-piece bathing suit!"
Liposuction
Her makeover also included some liposuction.
After healing, K.S. gained greater self-confidence, which reveals itself in the way she carries herself and, most importantly, in the way she empathizes and sympathizes with plastic surgery patients who are going through the same process. They feel and think about the same things as she did only several years ago.
She was always trying to cover up what she describes as a frumpy mid-section with baggy clothes and large shirts.
"After the tummy tuck and breast lift, I felt more attractive and much sexier," K.S. says. "Plus, I'm able to give real life answers about the many questions that plastic surgery patients ask. In addition, my husband loves my results, especially now that I have a different and more confident attitude.
"When it comes to plastic surgery, I'm a real believer and patients can see that immediately in me. I just love being there for them from the beginning of their plastic surgery journey to the end of their procedures!"