Age 71. Is That Too Old for a Tummy Tuck?

i weigh 238 lbs,i am 4 foot,11 inches tall,my doctor says i need a tummy tuck,what are my chances of living thru the surgery.

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4 Doctor Answers | Asked by reaves in montz,louisiana

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Who is a good candidate for a Tummy Tuck

Good candidates for abdominoplasty (tummy tuck) are persons who are healthy, regardless of their chronological age and are near an ideal body weight for their frame. The surgery is performed to improve the contour of the torso, not to lose weight. Unfortunately, your weight on a 4'11" frame makes you a poor candidate for abdominoplasty. Your result would be less than ideal and your risk of anesthesia and wound complications is greatly increased. Before... more

Tummy tuck surgery at 71 years old

Although age is not a limiting factor for tummy tuck surgery, good health is. I would ask that you be evaluated by your primary care doctor prior to surgery and plan on staying at a monitoring facility for 1-2 days post-operatively.

Tummy tuck at 71

Certainly a tummy tuck can be performed on a healthy 71 year old, but at about 240 lbs and 4'11", I think you would need to lose alot of weight before being a good candidate for surgery.

Steven Wallach, MD

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Manhattan Plastic Surgeon

Not a good tummy tuck candidate

I realize that I can't be certain without photos, but in my opinion, you are not a good candidate for a tummy tuck and I would refuse to do one on you. The reason is that your weight is far to high for a 4'11" person to get even a decent result and at 71, you age places you at a higher anesthetic risk. The only thing that might be considered is a panniculectomy which cuts off the hanging apron of fat in the lower abdomen but doesn't do a tummy tuck. more