Dr. George Toledo talks to Good Morning Texas about the Mommy Makeover procedure.

Amy V.:
Bringing home baby is a joyous moment for a new mom, but getting that pre-mommy tummy back often requires more than exercise and dieting alone. This is renowned plastic surgeon Dr. George Toledo, and he's back on GMT this time to show us how he helped give Courtney a new body after pregnancy through surgery. Guys, good morning to you.

Dr. Toledo:
Good morning, Amy.

Amy V.:
Courtney, we'll get to your story in just a minute, but Dr. Toledo, can you expand on your practice and the services you provide?

Dr. Toledo:
You know a big part of my practice is taking care of the 30 or 40 year-olds that have just finished having their children. Very few times do you get through pregnancy without having some loose skin, stretch marks, loose muscle, sometimes torn muscles, and the breasts of course sometimes are a little bit droopy and saggy and lost volume. So, that's big part of our practice. Courtney was special. She's special in that her baby really did a number on her abdomen. We see this with twins and triplets where the abdomen is stretched so far that it actually tears the muscle and causes a hernia. So more than just the usual tummy tuck, where you tighten a little skin up, she had to have a hernia repair as well as a full abdominal plasty.

Amy V.:
Wow, the ultimate sacrifice as a mommy. Courtney, I'm looking at those beautiful pictures. Congratulations on the babies, but let's talk a little bit about your experience and how you found Dr. Toledo.

Courtney:
Well, I grew up in the Parks City's area my whole life and had a lot of friends that had used his services before me, and his name was pretty known in the community. It was kind of a no brainer for me. I didn't think about going anywhere else.

Amy V.:
Because you had grown up there, he has a reputable name, so many friends had referred you, obviously. So talk about your experience.

Courtney:
Like he said, I had a second child was 10 pounds, and he was two weeks early. Yes. So, it was just really kind of demoralizing to go day in and day out. People would ask me every day, "When is your baby due?" and it had been a long time ago. I mean it really was almost every single day, and so one night I was crying to my mom about yet another incident of that happening, and she said, "You know what? We're going to do this." So, I owe it to my mom and Dr. Toledo because she was like, "We're going to do this. We'll take care of it." Aside from having my kids, the best choice I've made for myself.

Amy V.:
And we see you now. I mean you're looking great, and obviously we're talking about repairing [inaudible 00:02:38]. We're talking about quality of life, your self-esteem, and so many things. So, with such a significant problem, Dr. Toledo, how did you fix her?

Dr. Toledo:
If you look at her before picture, it looks like she's almost seven months pregnant. That's all abdominal contents. That's intestines and things bulging out, and there's no way exercise or anything can take care of that. It's surgery or nothing. It required repairing the muscles all the way from the sternum down to the pubic bone with really strong, tight sutures. We did the surgery sitting down so all the loose skin is removed and in the sitting position.

Amy V.:
Oh, wow.

Dr. Toledo:
Yeah. When you lay down, everything looks pretty good.

Amy V.:
You're right.

Dr. Toledo:
When you sit up, that's when everything hangs over.

Amy V.:
Interesting.

Dr. Toledo:
So we sit the patient up while they're asleep and tighten the skin to where when they sit down, there's not even an ounce of loose skin there.

Amy V.:
That's phenomenal, and Courtney, your results are incredible. I can tell you're happy. What do you think?

Dr. Toledo:
She had a hernia, and you can see where the muscle's torn, and usually with pregnancy the muscles are just loose and we just tighten them up. But when there's a true hernia, the intestinal contents are actually out.

Courtney:
I could feel things I wasn't supposed to feel, and that's also when I knew I really needed to do something about it. It wasn't just looking bad, but also-

Amy V.:
It was not just cosmetic for you. This was issues that needed to be addressed.

Dr. Toledo:
Insurance pays for this. It's one of the few times you can get insurance to really help you with some of these post-pregnancy issues.

Amy V.:
Fantastic. Okay, and you are feeling?

Courtney:
Like it's the best choice that I made for myself. I would do it again in an instant. I tell anybody that asks me. I'm not shy about it at all. I'll tell any co-worker and any person that passes me on the street. I'm like I have the confidence to go do what I want to do now. Run after my kids in the park without some weird appendage that's not supposed to be there, you know. I mean I really do think it was life changing. I don't really know any other way of saying it.

Amy V.:
Of course it was. And just to wrap up here, what's the difference between a cosmetic surgeon and a board certified plastic surgeon, Dr. Toledo?

Dr. Toledo:
Basically, cosmetic surgery is a term that was started a few years ago. Maybe it's been 10 years now, and it's all the other doctors that aren't plastic surgeons, they kind of made their own board and you just apply for it, and you get it. It could be ophthalmologists or ENTs or general surgeons or whatever. It kind of gives them, you know, some kind of license to do plastic surgery.

Amy V.:
And you're a board certified plastic surgeon.

Dr. Toledo:
Right, and that was started ages ago. Something like this really can't be done by very few other doctors. It has to be a certified plastic surgeon.

Amy V.:
Well, it's significant, and Courtney, your results are amazing. Congratulations and Dr. Toledo, thanks for being here again, and here's the information you need to know. Call Dr. Toledo at 214-363-4444 or check out his website. It's toledoplasticsurgery.com. Cary?

Cary:
It's...