I'm Getting Liposuction and the Doctor Says He Doesn't Need Blood Work from Me Why is That?

If we have a healthy patient with no medical history we don't require any blood work for liposuction. If you are concerned you can get a basic CBC blood test to check if you are anemic

Typically the requirement is that all patients over 50 years old undergoing the procedure under general anesthesia should have EKG and CBC and SMA-7 test done prior the surgery.  The safety of the patient should be number one priority.  All women should have the pregnancy test done. If the patient has some health issues  he/she should report it to his surgeon and discuss it with him. if you are healthy, most likely no tests are necessary.

 

If you are young, healthy, don't smoke, etc, then you may not need blood work before surgery.  However, this needs to be decided on a case by case basis by your doctor.

 

Good luck.

Small areas such as the neck/jawline or knees or touch up lipos typically don't need any pre-op labs but most lipos do. It all depends on what your doc feels is necessary. Your history and preop evaluation will determine that. Usual labs are: CBC (blood count), PT and PTT (bleeding studies), HIV antibody, Hepatitis panel, UA (urinalysis). These tell us if there is any bleeding problems or underlying infections. Your doc may require others as well depending on your health. Sincerely,

David Hansen,MD

It all depends on your age.If you are young and in good health it may not be necessary but if you are older he may want soem lab or an EKG

Each surgeon has different protocols before operating. If you are undergoing a procedure with intravenous or general anesthesia, we require blood work to be performed within 30 days of the surgery.

If you are undergoing a procedure with intravenous or general anesthesia, I require blood work as a matter of course. Not a year goes by when I do not have to make that phone call and suggest that a patient see a hematologist because the blood results are, unfortunately, outside normal limits. All women under 55 must also undergo a pregnancy test preoperatively; these webpages are full of questions from patients who learn that they are pregnant postoperatively and worry about the effects of anesthesia and pain medication on their unborn children. Safety should be first. If you are having a procedure under strictly local anesthesia, which is localized, then pretesting is not required. All of the ambulatory facilities and hospitals at which I operate require pretesting and, for patients over 45 or with underlying medical conditions, a clearance from the internist as well.

If you are a healthy individual with no concerning medical history then often times blood work is not needed prior to surgery.  If you are uncomfortable proceeding without testing done, you can request it from your surgeon or even have a preoperative physical with your family doctor.  I would like to point out though that all female patients of child bearing age will have a pregnancy test done prior to surgery.

If you are healthy person with no medical problems and no history of anemia, liposuction with the tumescent technique does not remove much blood at, all especially if the tumescent has epinephrine in it, therefore, you are safe unless there is an excessive amount of liposuction, which I can consider in the range of 3 to 4000cc and then you probably should have a check.

What preop testing a surgeon requires is usually based on the patients history, physical exam, and surgery to be performed. If you are young and healthy with no medical problems a urine pregnancy test may be all that is needed for the average liposuction patient.