Safe to Get Hysterectomy and Liposuction at the Same Time?

There are always risks with any procedure. The risks can increase depending on a number of variables. Combining a needed procedure with an elective cosmetic procedure might increase your risk compared with only undergoing the hysterectomy. There might be a greater risk of infection, which could be very serious. Risks increase when the hours of a procedure become substantial. This might be the case for you depending on how much fat is removed. There also should be a limit in the number of liters of fat removed. Please keep all of this in mind when you consult with your surgeons. You will probably be having the hysterectomy performed by one surgeon while the liposuction is done by another surgeon, and it is crucial that the two are wel-informed of the other surgeon's plans, and that both of them discuss with you the risks of having both done together. In today's busy life, convenience and time-efficiency, as well as possible cost reduction from having one less admission, is a tempting reason for many people to consider such a request as yours, but don't sacrifice safety.

Combining surgery increases risk. Many people want to try to do as much as possible once they decide to have surgery, hoping to combine recoveries. In the case of liposuction, there is a recovery of only one day off your feet if performed under local anesthesia. Combining liposuction with hysterectomy means lengthening general anesthesia time and increasing risk. Why not have a local anesthesia liposuction a week or two after the hysterectomy?

Conceivably these two procedures can be done at the same time, but you would need a thorough work-up. I assume the hysterectomy is being performed for benign disease. If it is not I would stage them.

Dr Peterson is correct, it is safe but a extensive pre operative evaluation is needed to see if you are truly a candidate. I would bot remove more than 4 liters of fat in a combination of operations. Also, be aware that even a vaginal hysterectomy can have a large volume of blood loss. So if in the gyn procedure which should be done first, you loss over 300 cc's of blood I would NOT do the liposuction. You see it is not all cut and dry to do combination surgeries. Regards.

Hi Kobe,
If you are healthy and do not have medical problems you should be able to combine liposuction with your vaginal hysterectomy. Make sure the liposuction is performed by a board certified plastic surgeon and the amount of suction is reasonable for a safe recovery. To perform suction on the two areas you have indicated you should be in a safe zone.
Best Wishes
Dr. Peterson