Do chronic diseases such as kidney and lung disease rule you out as a candidate for a face lift? How about breast augmentation?

They don't rule you out. A more experienced surgeon will have a wider ability to care for people with medical problems. We here at Boris Cosmetic, between Dr. Gocken and Dr. Boris, we have 70 years of caring for patients under our belt. Dr. Gocken has done faceliffts on patients that have had heart transplants, that are on steroids, are chronic smokers as well as many other ailments. There is no substitute for experience.

Most patients that have chronic illnesses can have surgery they just need to be healthy to undergo surgery. As for also have a medial clearance by the treating doctor.

 Patients with chronic diseases can undergo a facelift provided they are physiologically stable. Generally the plastic surgeon will confer with your physician. The same applies for breast augmentation.

It is possible to undergo a facelift even in a setting of some chronic medical conditions.  Your plastic surgeon will need to discuss your proposed surgery and anesthesia with your medical doctor to properly assess and prepare you for the surgery.  With proper preparation and proper surgical plan your facelift can be performed with reasonable risk profile.

Chronic disease don't exclude one from elective surgery. This is the reason why a pre-operative physical is performed when indicated by a person's medical history or age. The question is the severity of lung or kidney disease and whether any of those risk factors can be modified prior to surgery. For patients with any underlying medical conditions you will want your surgeon to communicate with your medical doctor and your anesthesiologist to ensure that you have an acceptably low risk of surgical or anesthetic complications. If you have a higher likelihood of complications, you might want to look at non-surgical alternatives to elective surgery. I hope this information is helpful for you.Stephen Weber MD, FACSDenver Facial Plastic Surgeon

No, not necessarily. It will depend on your ability to tolerate the operation which can best be determined in conjunction with internist, cardiologist or other specialist. 

The degree of kidney and lung disease will determine whether you can undergo elective surgery.  If you are considering a facelift, you should first see your internist that is managing your medical conditions and discuss the plan to have surgery.  Your physician should be able to evaluate your kidney and lung function as to whether you can undergo the surgery without undue risk.After that evaluation, you can then see a plastic surgeon to discuss the facelift and the safest course to undergo the procedure.

Chronic conditions do not rule you out from a facelift automatically,but they do need to be evaluated. They could potentially modify how the procedure is done or possibly make you not a candidate, although that is unusual. A facelift is an elective procedure, so safety is the first concern. Breast augmentation would not affect your facelift procedure and is not a factor in deciding if you are a candidate. The first step to seeing if you are a candidate is to consult with a board certified facial plastic surgeon.

Facelift is an elective procedure.  It can be done safely under local anesthesia wirh sedation and is often done when patients are advanced in years;  however, patients should seek "clearance" by their medical doctor.  This means they will likely need an EKG, lab reports, and possibly a chest x ray.  Safety is priority number 1, 2, and 3 in plastic surgery.  If the risks outweigh the benefits, surgery should not be considered.  Chronic medical conditions do not necessarily exclude you as a candidate for plastic surgical procedures, but more preoperative workup and testing may be considered.  Good luck!

Thank you for the question.Yes, plastic surgical procedures can be done safely for patients with a variety of different “medical conditions”. Careful evaluation and treatment of the medical condition is necessary prior to determining the appropriate candidates for the tummy tuck procedure. In your case this would be best done by your internist and nephrologist. These physicians know your situation best and would be best suited to discuss your suitability for the procedure and the potentially increased risks/ complications that you should consider very carefully. Once these doctors provide you "medical clearance", please make sure you are seeking consultation with well experienced board-certified plastic surgeons who preferably work with board-certified anesthesiologists in fully accredited surgery facilities. Then, careful communication between all the doctors involved will be helpful when it comes to providing you with optimal care.Please make sure that you keep your overall health/safety as the first priority. Best wishes.