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Are Multiple Cosmetic Surgery Procedures Safe?

I am a healthy 47 year old female considering having the following cosmetic surgery procedures performed at once: 1. Gummy bear breast augmentation (from an A cup to a C cup) 2. Macslift and Eyelid surgery (Blepharoplasty) 3. Full body power assisted liposculpture (under chin, upper arms, upper and lower abdominal area, mons area, hips, thighs and knees) How long would the total operating time be for these procedures and is it safe to undergo all these treatments at once?

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18 Doctor Answers | Asked by AussieChick2011 in Queensland, Australia

Doctor Answers (18)
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S-A-F-E-T-Y. Multiple Cosmetic Surgeries -- What is Safe to do in One Day?

You ask an excellent question about the safety of performing multiple procedures. Cosmetic surgery will never be completely risk free, and a careful assessment of risks is certainly needed when combining procedures. Bottom line, there is no simple answer to your question. Personally, I am the medical director for our Colorado- licensed Ambulatory Surgery Center, the Surgery Center of Colorado, and I am always evaluating how we can best maintain a "Culture of Safety... more

Multipul Cosmetic Surgery Procedures Safe???

Yes and No, (it depends on the number of procedures, how they are grouped, and the overall time it takes for any individual surgeon to complete them). Most surgeons would agree that complication rates go up the longer someone is under anesthesia and the larger the surgerical insult’s to the body. Anything over six hours tends to get onto the steep part of the complication curve, and that is where I usually limit my surgeries. Large surgeries, with significant body surface area with... more

Are multiple surgeries at one time safe?

I feel confident that there are very few of my American colleagues that would perform this amount of surgery at one time, even on a healthy individual let alone recommend it. Many ambulatory facilities limit the amount of time that a patient can undergo general anesthesia to 6 hours which is ours. The amount of surgery you propose, even in the most adept hands, will take longer than this. It would certainly be safer and more reasonable to stage your surgical objectives into two sessions,... more

Multiple procedure risk factors

The risks of surgery increase with longer length of the procedures. However, many factors go into determining overall risk: Your age, overall health, anesthesia type, etc. The procedures you describe could take 5 to 8+ hours. If it is 5 hours under sedation and local anesthetic, the risk may less than 8 hours of general anesthesia. It may be best to discuss your risk with your plastic surgeon and primary care (GP) doctor. If there are any concerns, it would be OK to have your... more

Combination plastic surgery procedures

You have described a marathon string of procedures that, in my opinion, carries too much risk to attempt in one stage. The length of anesthesia exposure shows an exponential increased risk after 6 hours and your surgeon will be operating under the stress of fatigue beyond that period. Even with multiple surgeons, the physiological trauma will tax your health unnecessarily. I suggest doing the head and neck procedures separately under conscious sedation to decrease your... more

Wisdom of multiple cosmetic procedures in one day

The number of hours it would take by an experienced solo surgeon performing the lsit of procedures you describe would typically be a minimum of 7 if not 8 hours. The time could be reduced with multiple surgeons inframammary fold approach, simple MACS lift, UL bleph only and limited liposuction.

Otto Joseph Placik, MD

32 reviews

Chicago Plastic Surgeon

Safety in Plastic Surgery

I believe that the amount of procedures you have listed is too many to do in one day. The length of time in the operating room for elective surgeries should be kept to a minimum (less than 6 hours) and staging procedures is the best way to accomplish this. Performing the breast and facial surgery together in one day followed by liposuction at another time would be safe.

Multiple Cosmetic Procedures

I personally would recommend that you stage these procedures. I think the breast augmentation, chin lipo, and facelift would be safe together. I would then recommend the liposuction at a seconds stage 3-6 months down the road. This would give you the opportunity to touch up any issues from the facelift or chin lipo and offer you the safest recovery. Remember this is elective cosmetic surgery that is not medically necessary, practice safety first. more

Are Multiple Cosmetic Surgery Procedures Safe?

From your description I feel too much is being done for your safety. Please stage these operations. From MIAMI Dr. darryl j. Blinski

How much surgery is safe?

I think the amount of surgery one can tolerate depends on what you are having done. Certainly the breast augmentation and the facelift/blepharoplasty can be done safely at the same time. Liposuction is certainly a safe procedure however doing as many areas as you are planning means you are probably removing almost 4000cc of fat. Combining significant liposuction with other procedures does seem to have a higher complication rate. The longer the surgery, especially... more

Multiple procedures

In a word, no! That is way too much surgery, and your risks would be unacceptable (to me anyway). I would discuss your goals with a certified plastic surgeon, and come up with a plan that will get you results without hurting you. You may need two or three trips to the OR to get it done safely.

Are multiple plastic surgery procedures done in a day safe?

There is a limit what can be done safely and how many or what kind of procedures can be combined together. Remember, you want the best and longest lasting results and you want to choose a board certified plastic surgeon with good judgement and not a cowboy. You state that you are healthy, but you describe that you practically need whole body liposuction. When was the last time you consulted your primary care physician? I often see people (mainly men) with big beer bellies for... more

Safety of multiple procedures

Multiple procedures can safely be done in most patients, but time limits, the extent of operative sites, and a little common sense should guide your surgeon. In general, a 3-4 hour combined outpatient procedure can be safely performed in most healthy patients. This time period can sometimes be stretched by 1-2 hours, but increases the possibility that admission to the hospital for observation may be warranted. In your case, the inclusion of multiple sites for liposuction... more

Too many procedures

In general, you should only have a few procedures done at the same time. The procedures you list are too many to safely perform in one day. As plastic surgeons, our primary goal is patient safety. It is my recommendation that you do the liposuction on a separate day than the other procedures. Good luck.

Too much cosmetic surgery for one day

You have clearly bitten off more than is safe to do in one day and I am surprised a reputable safe surgeon would even entertain this combination of surgery from head to toe. You significantly increase the fatal risk from surgeries that are safe when done in the proper timeframe and spaced over 2-3 surgeries. Not to mention surgeon fatigue and the chance of not getting the very best result from that alone.

Multiple procedures

While I often will perform combination procedures, I choose my patients carefully and the procedures wisely to minimize complications and to keep the time in the operating room down to a minimum.

Steven Wallach, MD

12 reviews

Manhattan Plastic Surgeon

Limit on multiple cosmetic procedures

A healthy person can undergo multiple procedures, but there is a limit . I try to keep all procedures to around 4 or 5 hours maximum. Having a MACS lift, eyelid surgery, breast surgery , and full body liposuction all in one day will be lengthy. Most surgeons would not undertake that many procedures, especially with so many areas of liposuction. Even if the amounts removed are modest, just the position changes for the different areas will add time. I would not advise you... more

Multiple cosmetic procedures at once

It is not unsafe to have multiple cosmetic surgery procedures done at once, however ideally the total surgical time should not be too long. Looking at your case, having a breast augmentation and facial cosmetic surgery at the same time is ok. Adding all that additional liposuction will add surgical time, and will also add significant strain on your body. Thus depending on how large you are and how much liposuction needs to be would be the limiting factor. Without... more