What is the BMI maximum for a woman considering a Tummy Tuck, Lipo and BBL? Example, I’m 5’10 and 259lbs.

Hi shanna536,
Each provider has different criteria for BMI, especially with combined procedures. Data has shown that the higher the BMI the higher the risk of complications during and after surgery. Patients should always be at a healthy goal weight prior to elective surgery. BMI is a number and many patients carry their weight in different places ie top-heavy vs bottom-heavy. I would not go solely to a provider just because they accept higher BMI patients. Make sure you find someone who is realistic with your regarding your goals and desires. Best of luck in your journey!

Dear shanna536,
generally speaking, you want to reach your goal weight before you consider a tummy tuck, otherwise your results will be suboptimal if you continue to lose weight after the surgery. If you are considering a surgery, I would suggest you to consult a board-certified plastic surgeon. Only after a thorough examination you will get more information and recommendations.
Daniel Barrett, MD
Certified, American Board of Plastic Surgery
Member, American Society of Plastic Surgery
Member, American Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery

A healthy weight for your height is 128.9 - 173.6 lbs. A BMI of 35 (yours is 37.2) is probably the upper limit that a plastic surgeon would consider for this procedure. It is best to be within 10 pounds of your weight goal for three months prior to the BBL, lipo, or TT. Having a high BMI will increase the risks of complications during and after surgery and produce less than stellar results.

Hello dear!
Thanks for the question and provided information as well.
Right now your BMI is 37 and it needs to be 33 or less, for you to be considered a good candidate for plastic surgery.
l recommend you to make an appointment with a board certified plastic surgeon to talk about your goals and the best options for you.
Good luck :)

​A healthy BMI is between 15 - 24, the maximum recommended being around 30. If you are above 30, then you are encouraged to lose weight before undergoing surgery. The higher the BMI the higher the chance of complications. A Skype or FaceTime consultation with a board certified plastic surgeon will help you get an accurate recommendation for your procedure and for pricing.

Respectfully,
Arian Mowlavi MD, FACS
Realself 100 Hall of Fame Inductee

It’s perhaps better to split these into the three separate procedures to get an understanding of weight limits and what the implications are.

Let’s start with a full tummy tuck.

Obese patients are at increased risk for wound healing complications from the procedure. This means the incision can split open and patients can develop area of skin necrosis.

The worst case scenario might include being left with an 8x4 inch scar after four months of wound care. The chance of these type of complications go up with patients who are older, unhealthy and especially those with a history of tobacco abuse. Some obese patients also carry excess visceral or intra-abdominal fat. These patients will have significantly limited tummy tuck results with the result causing the upper abdomen to buldge compared to the lower abdomen.

In regards to liposuction most plastic surgeons will not remove more than 5 L of fat and in Florida Liposuction is limited by state law to less than 4 L if done as a liposuction procedure and less than 1 L if any other surgical procedure is done in combination.

Let’s say your surgeon can remove up to 5 L of fat with the combined procedure.

5 L of removed fat it’s about 8 to 10 pounds.

For someone who weighs 259 pounds this would bring your weight to 249 pounds. Obviously the fat will be removed where it matters the most but it’s still a very small potential change based on percentages.

My personal first-hand experience with obese patients is that patients who way up to 160 pounds can have full torso lipisuction to completion with a deal results and still stay within 5 L of fat removal.

Patients above 180 pounds almost always need two rounds of liposuction removing between seven and 10 L of fat.

Above 220 pounds 10 L of fat is insufficient to get ideal results and these patients have typically lost control of their eating habits I need to master those before attempting lipisuction. Of course patients can opt for having a small improvement but that’s a lot of money to spend and surgery to go through to get partial improvements that in the end often could be obtained through successful weight loss.

Unless someone can on their own lose weight they will regain the fat removed from liposuction only in a new fat distribution.

This is the primary reason plastic surgeons should turn down obese patients for liposuction procedures.

In regards to fat transfer if someone truly is an our volume deficit for aesthetic purposes than fat transfer yes reasonable on obese patients.

Most overweight patients seeking a BBL are looking for more liposuction results than they are fat grafting results.

In your case you should try to get well below 200 pounds and then seek in person consultations with local board-certified plastic surgeons asking what procedures could help you look the best.

Typically weight-loss patients do better with skin surgery than they do with liposuction and fat transfer.

Best,

Mats Hagstrom MD