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If I Am in Good Health, is It Safe to Have a Breast Lift and Liposuction During the Same Surgery?

asked 8 months ago by fixxmee in San Francisco, CA
Latest answer by Robert L. Kraft, MD
Question viewed 304 times
Tags: combination, safety

I am considering a breast lift and liposuction to the arms, flanks, and abdomen. I received a consult and the Dr said it should be no more than 6 hrs under general anestesia. Does this sound like two many procedures at once?

15 answers to If I Am in Good Health, is It Safe to Have a Breast Lift and Liposuction During the Same Surgery?

+1

Maximum anesthesia time

I agree with your doctor. I set the limit at 5.5 hours because, after that point, the risk of complications more than doubles. It is believed that the anesthesia has a significant role in this process, particular with respect to embolisms. My anesthesiologist would not permit a patient to have two major procedures within the same week for the same reason. Generally, for anesthesia purposes, the procedures should be performed about 6 weeks apart.
Robert L. Kraft, MD

New York Plastic Surgeon
+1

Multiple procedures

It is certainly ok to undergo surgery having several procedure performed at once as long as you are healthy, the surgery is not too long, and there is not significant blood loss.
Steven Wallach, MD

Manhattan Plastic Surgeon
+1

Can I have a breast lift and liposuction at the same time?

Combining multiple procedures is safe as long as your surgeon is Board Certified and the facility is accredited and certified. Benefits include the fact that you will only have one recovery period and the cost will be less than doing the procedures separately. The most important factor is that it can be done safely. To increase the safety profile surgeries are limited to no more than 6 hours in length and liposuction is limited to no more than 5 liters.
Frank Agullo, MD

El Paso Plastic Surgeon

www.elpasoplasticsurgery.com

+1

Mastopexy and multiple procedures

The risk of surgery is increased by prolonged surgical times. When you do multiple procedures you have a higher risk than doing a single procedure. One option would be to separate the mastopexy and the liposuction. You could do one surgery on one day and the other theoretically the next day are several days later. This may be a way to decrease the risk of multiple procedures but to recover from multiple procedures in one recovery.
Wendell Perry, MD

Miami Plastic Surgeon

www.wperrymd.com

+1

Breast lift and liposuction

The procedures you are describing are safe to combine. The safety factors when considering combining procedures center around amount of fat removed with liposuction, the length of the surgery and the overall health of the individual. Your procedures can be done in a safe and timely fashion by your board certified plastic surgeon. Good luck and I hope this was helpful.
Robert W. Kessler, MD

Orange County Plastic Surgeon
+1

If I Am in Good Health, is It Safe to Have a Breast Lift and Liposuction During the Same Surgery?

I agree with most of the previous expert posters, especially Dr Aldea. BUT 6 hours seems VERY long. I would reask if that is the surgery time or the time of arrival vs leaving facility.
Darryl J. Blinski, MD

Miami Plastic Surgeon
+1

Combination Surgery is Fine in Moderation!

I like to keep all combination elective aesthetic procedures under four hours. Any more than four hours and your risks of blood clots increase. If this is a problem with your doctor, find someone who can perform the procedure in a more efficient manner or split it into two procedures. Convenience sometimes does not outweigh the risks of an elective procedure. Finally, having a surgical procedure that takes 6 hours cetainly is more stressful on a surgeon than a shorter procedure... more
Robert M. Freund, MD

New York Plastic Surgeon

www.breastenlargement.net

+1

Breast lift and liposuction at the same time

If the surgery time is kept low and the amount of liposuction is reasonable then there should be no problem with doing the procedures together. Make sure you use a board certified plastic surgeon and an accredited facility. Donald R. Nunn MD Atlanta Plastic Surgeon.
Donald Nunn, MD, DDS

Atlanta Plastic Surgeon
+1

Combining Multiple cosmetic procedures

I believe, that if, as you say you are in good health and have no history of blood clots, then combining a breast lift with liposuction is generally safe. I would recommend that pneumatic compression stockings are used and that no more than 4000 cc of fat are removed during the procedure. The longer the procedure the greater the risk also.
Robert M. Jensen, MD

Medford Plastic Surgeon
+1

Safety of combined procedures

Dear Fixxmee, It is safe to combine procedures provided the patient is healthy to begin with. Also the surgeon needs to pay attention to the types of complications that can occur with longer operations, namely blood clots in the legs, for which you should have SCDs, which passively pump the blood while you are asleep, and loss of body heat, which can be prevented with warming devices. Depending on how extensive the liposuction is, you may want to consider an overnight stay to... more
Paul W. Loewenstein, MD

Milwaukee Plastic Surgeon
+1

Breast lift and liposuction combined into one operation

I often perform combined surgeries on healthy patients. This is a very common procedure, it takes about 4-5 hours under intravenous sedation and tumescent anesthesia. I do a short scar breast lift which reduces the time to complete the operation. In my mommy makeover procedures we also include an abdominoplasty if it is indicated.Make sure you see a board certified plastic surgeon with extensive experience in these procedures.
George Marosan, MD

Bellevue Plastic Surgeon

www.bellevueplasticsurgeons.com

+1

Is It Safe to Have a Breast Lift and Liposuction During the Same Surgery?

It is safe to combine several procedures in a HEALTHY patient IF the procedures are carried out by a member of The American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) (which requires all its members to be certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery, be reviewed by the membership and agree to operate by a binding Code of Ethics), in a Medicare or AAAASF surgical facility. Do your homework and you will do well. Good Luck.
Peter A. Aldea, MD

Memphis Plastic Surgeon
+1

Safe to perform multiple procedures

We frequently combine 2 or even 3 procedures in healthy patients. These procedures are safe when done in a certified OR by a Board Certified Plastic Surgeon. The advantage to you, the patient, is one surgery, one recovery and being able to address everything that bothers you at one time.
Beverly Friedlander, MD

Short Hills Plastic Surgeon
+1

Breast lifting and liposuction

Yes, it is possible to have this combination of surgery done safely. However, you are wise to be concerned. Make sure you're working with a well experienced board-certified plastic surgeon. I would also suggest checking his or her safety record (for example with the medical board). Also inquire about the planned location of the procedure and the person involved with anesthesia. Because of the length of the proposed procedure and a potential blood loss associated... more
Tom J. Pousti, MD

San Diego Plastic Surgeon
+1

It is Safe to Combine Procedures

A mastopexy and liposuction of the areas you describe are safe together as long as you are in good health. Other factors to consider are the length of surgery ( 5-6 hours as an outpatient is generally ok) and the amount of fat to be removed ( I limit to about 4000 cc as an outpatient in combined procedures). Good Luck
Brian Klink, MD

Sacramento Plastic Surgeon

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