How Long Should Surgery Take for Tummy Tuck with Lipo, and What is a Safe Amount of Time to Be Under General Anesthesia?

Most good docotrs can perform these combination procedures in under three hours.

A simple rule of thumb is that a patients anesthesia risks go up after 4 hours.

Any eletive procedure for aesthetic concerns should be under that time limit.

Finally, all surgeons feel strong and macho, but any human being cannot be as good at their craft after 4 hours of non-stop surgery.

Dear San Francisco4746,

The length of surgery depends on how much needs to be done, the technique used, and the speed of the surgeon. I prefer to focus on obtaining the best result rather than performing the fastest operation. Having said that, I prefer to keep elective surgery under 6 hours. A tummy tuck with liposuction generally takes 2.5-4 hours.

Warmest wishes,

Larry Fan, MD