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Mommy makeover ‘worth every penny’

RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) – Kelly Garrett has been waiting for this day for months.

Garrett is not only wearing her dream wedding dress for the first time, she is also getting a glimpse of the new version of herself, thanks to a mommy makeover.

“I am in love with the results. It has been worth every effort and penny that we did for this,” she says with a smile.

Garrett’s journey started in the operating room about seven weeks before her gown fitting. Dr. Gordon Lewis gave Garrett’s body the boost she has wanted since her kids, ages 12 and three, came along.

“It took me a couple years, a lot of exercising to get down back to a weight that I enjoy, but there are things as you get older that just don’t go back into  place,” she says.

Adds Dr. Lewis, “Somebody who’s in great shape like Kelly can expect to get phenomenal results.”

He describes the ideal candidate: someone who is already a healthy weight and reasonably fit who just needs some help with so-called problem areas.

A mommy makeover is any combination of a breast augmentation, lift, tummy tuck and liposuction. Dr. Lewis now does about four a month, which is double what he used to do.

According to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, there were 117,158 tummy tucks done in 2014, an 87 percent increase from 2000.

Breast lifts saw a 75 percent increase during the same time period, with 92,724 of them done nationwide.

Dr. Lewis says just about every patient loves what she sees post-procedure.

“The mommy makeover just really helped me with that and made me feel refreshed and renewed,” explains Garrett.

She says the recovery was not terrible. She had to wear a compression garment for a few weeks but did not have to limit as much activity as she expected.

“It was more of a ‘If it hurts, don’t do it,’ but I have two kids, I have a life, I have things to do.  We had baseball practice and things to go to, and I still lived my life and did what I had to do.”

That includes getting back to planning her special day with her fiancé.

“He’s been very pleased with the results too,” she says with a smile. “We went to Victoria’s Secret for the first time this weekend.  We were excited.”

As for the cost, Dr. Lewis says breast procedures run about $5,000. Add a tummy tuck and possibly another procedure, and a mommy makeover can come with a price tag of $10,000 to $15,000.