Is It Odd That my Plastic Surgeon Doesn't Require Lab Work? (photo)

      There is no evidence based medicine to support performing laboratory work prior to tummy tuck surgery in a young, heathy individual.

Usually for the healthy 23 year old patient the special blood work is not required for the surgery. However, every facility has its own requirements. Typically every patient 50 years old and older needs  EKG, CBC,  SMA-7 and also the  surgical clearance from the primary physician to undergo surgery under general anesthesia. Patients in this age group are considered higher risk; therefore for the safety all the precautions should take place. If the patient is under 50 years old and has some health issues usually surgeon will decide if the patient needs additional health check by his/her primary physician. Pregnancy test is usually all that is required for the HEALTHY under 50 patient.

In NY, this would be a deviation from the standard of care. I would not operate without pretesting and my anesthesiologists certainly would not be willing to participate in the case. Evaluation is not a substitute for clinical findings from a laboratory. Not a year goes by where a significant anomaly is not picked up on routine pretesting. You are not over-analyzing but are showing good judgment here.