Can you die from a Tummy Tuck and Breast Lift?

Thank you for the question. It is a legitimate concern. As a board-certified plastic surgeon luckily I have never had a death in 20 years of doing mommy makeovers. Although extremely rare, I do, unfortunately, know of a couple of very sad cases in the community. My success is multi-factorial.1. Patient selection is key to safety. I never recommend a long mommy makeover for any patient who has medical problems. We do preoperative labs including nutritional parameters to increase the likelihood of success and often involve their primary care provider in determining the patients' suitability for a longer surgery.2. Prevention of blood clots is key. I use TED hose compression stockings and SCD leg squeezers during surgery AND we send the patients home with them for one week. Most will also receive Lovenox blood thinning shots for 5 days after surgery, then take an aspirin a day thereafter for another week or so. Early ambulation and incentive spirometry add additional safety and benefits as well. I also send my patients home with a pulse oximeter which measures their oxygen saturation so we know at any moment what their heart rate and oxygen saturation is.3. Limiting the total volume of liposuction to 5-6 liters is very important to minimize fluid shifts.4. Education about the risks of narcotics is also key to safetyGood luck!

I think that in healthy patients, tummy tuck and breast lift can be performed together safely.   Find an expert
in all of these procedures who has great before and after pictures and
great reviews.Kenneth Hughes, MDLos Angeles, CA

Yes you can die, you can die from any surgery.  You can die driving home from work today but the odds are defiantly in your favor.  Once you have all the information on these procedures like anesthesia time , recovery time, and surgical time asleep, I believe you will feel better.  It is evident that your anxiety of the surgery needs some attention.  Education will help with that.  Before you have surgery though,, you must be 100% confident in the surgeon and the facility and the staff in the OR.  Nurses, techs etc..  Find the perfect board certified physician that fits all of your needs and you will feel so comfortable with your decision.Sincerely;Dr. Lane F. .Smith

Thank you for the question. The best published data I can find regarding mortality rates associated with tummy tuck surgery range from 0.02% to 0.16%.   In other words, mortality rates are extremely low. The most common cause of that is related to pulmonary embolism (blood clots that moved to the patient's lungs).

Your best bet: choose your plastic surgeon very carefully; everything else including good judgment/advice/planning, anesthesia provider and safe surgery facility will follow. 

This careful selection should give you some peace of mind that you will be safe around the time of surgery. 

Best wishes.

23 Deaths in 1,141,418 plastic surgery procedures.Only 1 death from surgery itself.You are 11 times more likely to die in your car than during surgery.Most importantly, if you have any risk factors, these issues should be adequately evaluated prior to any surgery.