What could prevent a person from being cleared to get breast augmentation according to their labs?

Question

Stephen T. Greenberg, MD, FACS · Answer

Thank you for your question.  Pre-operative medical clearance is important to obtain prior to any surgical procedure, especially elective cosmetic surgery, in order to determine that the patient is in optimal health to handle the proposed surgery.  Pre-operative clearance is generally performed by a patients primary care physician and can include bloodwork, ekg, mammogram/breast sonogram, etc..., all of which your primary care physician signs off on.  Labs performed for purpose of medical clearance can indicate that the patient suffers from anemia, diabetes, has an infection, is pregnant, has potassium issues, etc... all of which are important to know and take care of before any surgery is to be performed.  I hope this helps and I wish you the best of luck.

Bryan Armijo, MD · Answer

Candidates should be in overall good health physically with realistic expectations. It’s safe to say that most board-certified plastic surgeons would avoid operating on a patient with irregular blood pressure, bleeding disorders, or other serious factors that can add risk to the procedure. Patients with unrealistic expectations may never be happy with their results or they could be seeking extreme alterations that can also put them at risk.

Gary M. Horndeski, MD · Answer

Great question.For a seemingly healthy individual without any medical problems, it is important to check for any possible infections (urinary tract, bladder, respiratory tract, oral/dental, etc) that may not be apparent to the naked eye. An infection of any sort anywhere in the body, has the potential to "seed" the implants and cause major problems which may lead to removal of the implants. Remember, implants need to be treated carefully as they are foreign bodies and are subject to rejection if they become contaminated or "seeded" by bacteria. Other things to look for are anemia and pregnancy.  Best wishes,

Ted Eisenberg, DO, FACOS, FAACS · Answer

Good question. In my practice, prior to having surgery, we test for a few basic things that, if abnormal, would preclude having surgery. We would not perform surgery if a patient was pregnant, had an unexplained anemia or low blood count, had an elevated white blood cell count (possible infection in the body), or an abnormal bleeding time (possible bleeding problem). Also, if a patient has a known medical condition, like diabetes or an overactive thyroid, we would want to check to make sure her condition was stable prior performing surgery. Hope this information is helpful. For more information on this and similar topics, I recommend a plastic surgery Q&A book like "The Scoop On Breasts: A Plastic Surgeon Busts the Myths."

Sanjay K. Sharma, MD, FACS · Answer

Thanks for your question.  Unless you have a particular medical condition that is being treated by an Internist, you typically don't need lab work done before routine breast augmentation procedures. If you are asking in general what would make a plastic surgeon more aware of potential complications, then your platelet count, coagulation profile, and blood count are important especially if you have a bleeding disorder or some coagulation deficiency. Your surgeon should take the time to ask about your medical history, and order appropriate lab tests to make sure you are a good candidate for elective breast augmentation.

Shahin Fazilat, MD, FACS · Answer

In my practice, I do require baseline labs on all patients.  The majority of the times there is nothing on the labs that prevent surgery.  We do check PT,PTT, and INR on each patient, this is to be sure that there is no clotting or bleeding issues.   We area also looking at kidney and liver function, checking for anemia, protein levels, and looking at electrolyte levels.  I always have my nurse review the labs with each patient and be sure that patients have proper nutrition to assist with post operative healing.  Each Plastic Surgeon is different and a lot of my collogues do not get labs on patients with no medical history.   Be sure to express all your concerns to your surgeon.  Best of luck to you.

Eric Schaffer, MD, FACS · Answer

Labs required before a Breast Augmentation surgery depends on a patients medical history and medications taken.  Some possibilities of preventing a patient from having surgery would be active infections, pregnancy, low blood volume, prolonged blood clotting, or elevated liver enzymes. Safety of my patients is most important.

Anthony J. Wilson, MD · Answer

Every surgeon has different preferences regarding labs and the ok to go ahead with surgery. That being said your surgeon may have quite different preference than we have at our practice. For our patients we obtain a complete blood count (CBC) and Mammogram prior to surgery. We have canceled or postponed surgery because of anemia (low hemoglobin or hematocrit) and low platelet count. The latter can result in increased bleeding risk. We have also cancelled surgery because of other underlying medical problems including uncontrolled diabetes, heart problems or liver problems. Lastly abnormalities on mammogram warrant further work up before any surgery should take place. All of these restrictions are for the patient's safety and ultimate success of surgery. Best of luck!

Camille Cash, MD · Answer

When undergoing elective plastic surgery, it is important patients are healthy.  Labwork that indicates infection, anemia, pregnancy, etc. can cancel a procedure.  Also a potassium level that is abnormal increases safety risk and will postpone a procedure.

Reza Momeni, MD, FACS · Answer

Based on current guidelines at our clinic, for patients under 50, if they are healthy and without significant medical history, no blood work is requested. Guidelines may be different at your surgeon's location.For us, pregnancy test is routine of course, but that's usually done with urine samples on the morning of surgery.Best wishes,

RM

RM

What could prevent a person from being cleared to get breast augmentation according to their labs?

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