Will Low Hemoglobin Level Affect Tummy Tuck?

Thank you for your question.  Your hemoglobin is quite low and you should contact your family doctor in order to find a cause for it.  There is no doubt that your hemoglobin must be closer to 12 for a cosmetic procedure.  Keep in mind that tummy-tuck surgery, often associated with some liposuction, will give you a lower hemoglobin post-operatively secondary to blood lost.  You want to avoid blood transfusion for a cosmetic procedure.  Low hemoglobin post-op can be dangerous and will make you feel very tired.  It will take some time to bring it back up and you may have to postpone your procedure for a few months, until also a cause can be found.

Better be safe! and good luck!

Best, Dr. Marc DuPere, Plastic Surgeon, Toronto

 

 

   Tummy Tuck can be performed for most individuals for a hemoglobin above 10 or 11.  However, a hemoglobin of 7.9 is just too low for surgery and should be corrected.  Find the plastic surgeon with ELITE credentials who performs hundreds of tummy tucks each year.  Kenneth Hughes, MD Los Angeles, CA

I would recommend that you get your anemia checked by a hematologist or your internist.  Get their recommendations as to the cause of the anemia and the subsequent treatment.  If this can not occur in a reasonable time prior to 3/22 then the surgery needs to be postponed.

Dr. ES

Having a good hemoglobin is esencial for any surgery but yes especially for a large surgery like a Tummy Tuck it is important to have at least between 11 and 12, during a tummy tuck alone there is not that much loss of fluids so hemoglobin does not go that much more down , but usually it is combined with liposuction and that makes the hemoglobin diminish a certain percentage beacuse of fluid loss so if your at a 11 y can go down to a 9. It does not affect the result of your tummy tuck or the healing of the scar , what it could affect is the risk of getting infection because your red blood cell count is down , but that is why they give you antibiotic that is the only risk your taking. But it does not affect in the result of the surgery at all. But I would recommend, to first keep your hemoglobin up and eat healthy and do not do extreme dieting keep your self healthy and then go ahead and do your surgery.

Your hemoglobin levels are very low and you definitely need a workup by your family physician at minimum to determine the cause.  Your surgery should definitely be delayed until your levels are stable.  You will have some blood loss with a tummy tuck, so starting at a low level is not good for your overall health.  Remember, a tummy tuck is an elective surgery and should only be done on healthy patients.  Good luck!

If your blood count is low, you'll need to address the cause of it and make sure it's at a good level before cosmetic surgery.  I also get clearance from the patient's primary care doctor before any surgery.  Good luck!

Your surgeon is smart. Your hemaglobin is too low. I suspect it will take a bit longer to raise it and you might want to postpone. The more important question is "why?" is it so low. Anemia can be from many reasons including heavy menstrual bleeding, poor nutrition and slow bleeding from your GI tract. You should really see a good internist or family medicine doc to find out the cause.

Your doctor is correct to postpone your surgery. It sounds like you are doing are the right things to raise your levels. Unfortunately, it is hard to determine how fast your hemoglobin level will rise. It is important to find the cause of your anemia to properly treat it. You should consult with your PCP to perform a work up prior to your surgery.

We try to minimize risks for all elective surgery, and a low blood count is an avoidable risk. The amount of iron supplement you are taking is rather small. The usual anemia does will be 650 mg daily. 

More important that fixing this is finding the cause, and for this you should be seeing your primary physician for evaluation rather than self medicating. This is a very low hemoglobin and the cause should be determined as a priority.

It takes about a month before oral iron kicks in enough to raise your blood count, so count on a delay on that basis alone. Call your physician, Sandy. 

All the best. 

Your doctor is wise in postponing your tummy tuck surgery until your hemoglobin is significantly higher.  Unfortunately,  it is not possible to predict exactly how long it will take for your hemoglobin to increase to normal levels.

Hopefully, you have had a workup to determine the CAUSE of the relatively low hemoglobin level you are starting with. If not, seek consultation with an internist or your primary care physician.

 Best wishes.