If I have tummy tuck is there other plasma methods that can be used besides blood?

Hello! Thank you for your question. It's essential to know that the majority of tummy tuck patients do not require blood transfusions, so your concerns may not be as significant as you might think. However, it's still important to discuss your religious restrictions regarding blood transfusions with your plastic surgeon during your consultation.

There are various methods to minimize blood loss during surgery, such as the use of electrocautery or harmonic scalpel, which can help reduce bleeding. Additionally, cell salvage techniques can be employed to collect and reinfuse your own blood during the surgery, avoiding the need for external blood.

Having a thorough discussion with your surgeon about your specific needs and preferences will ensure they take appropriate measures to ensure your safety and comfort during the procedure. They will work closely with you to develop a plan that aligns with your beliefs and medical requirements. Thank you for your question and good luck with your tummy tuck journey!

Hello @Jersey1130, thank you for your question. First is important to remember that in your surgical plan there are a variety of possibilities that take into account your expectations and what is possible to achieve. In a tummy tuck rarely there is need to use blood transfusion if the patient is healthy. For more information and recommendations, it is prudent to consult with one or several board certified plastic surgeons. Best wishes! Alan Gonzalez MD, FACS.

Hi Jersey,It's good to let your provider know about your religious preferences, as they may impact your care.Use of plasma or blood products is not required, nor is it regularly performed. The easiest solution to your question would be to have a tummy tuck without any sort of plasma method.IYou may also want to check into the idea of auto-transfusion (giving your own blood to the blood bank, several months in advance of surgery, so if you need a transfusion you can get your own blood).Hope this helps!Best,Christopher Pannucci MDBoard Certified Plastic SurgeonPlastic Surgery NorthwestSpokane, WA

Most tummy tucks do not require blood unless you have had significant weight loss and have a great deal of skin. With your religion, many do not allow the use of any blood products once they left the body, and only replacement fluids are allowed. However, you might be able to use blood saving methods that infuses as it is lost. It would suggest checking with your church's elders first to see what is allowed for you.

Hi, Jersey1130 ! Thanks for your question.
As physicians, we are respectful towards any belief and try our best to give the best service regarding the belief’s rules. However sometimes we’re stuck.
The blood can be given in two ways: 1- blood given completely as it is 2- it is divided to its subparts like thrombocyte suspension (TS) and erythrocyte suspension (ES).
Erythrocyte suspension is the one we give for low blood levels. We give one plus thrombocyte suspension per two ESs.
You musn’t take the risk of having a tummy-tuck without accepting that there is a high probability of recieving a red-blood product after surgery. You need to signed the informed consent forms in order to have this surgery, where you allow to recieve a possible transfusion, as well.

It would be very rare for a healthy tummy tuck patient to require any blood during this surgery. There is minimal blood loss associated with this procedure. I encourage you to discuss your concerns with your surgeon.

There are lots of products that can be given but only red blood cells do what red blood cells do.
Anybody who loses enough blood to not survive will die without having red blood cell replacement.
No one should need a blood transfusion for a tummy tuck.
Using good surgical technique that procedure should not create more than 50 mL of blood loss. Starting off with a healthy hemoglobin hematocrit level you should be quite safe in regards to not needing blood transfusions.
It is probably one of the things you should not worry about. There are plenty of other things that are much more important to worry about when it comes to this procedure.
It’s simply not a high blood loss operation and if surgeons make an effort to limit blood loss this should be very little.
What patients should be worried about is finding out #1 if they’re a good candidate and #2 if their surgeon is the right one to do the procedure.
Get a quality assessment regarding your candidacy I have a multiple in person consultations. That is also the way to find the right provider.
Schedule multiple in person consultations. During each consultation discuss your religious views including blood products. During the consultation ask each provider to show their entire collection of before and after pictures of the procedure you’re interested in.
Look critically at what surgeon gets the best looking belly buttons.
That tends to be the most difficult part of the procedure and surgeons that consistently get good looking belly buttons typically get the rest of the procedure done correctly as well.
Other telltale signs of quality work includes very low set incisions that follow anatomic contours naturally.
The patient’s torso should look good from all angles including from behind.
A good plastic surgeon will incorporate the impact of the procedure and design the procedure so the entire torso looks appropriate. This means looking good from all angles. Simply seeing a handful of preselected before and after pictures is insufficient to get a clear understanding of what the average results look like in the hands of each provider.
For that reason ask each provider to show their entire collection of before and after pictures. Especially ask them to show as many pictures as possible of patients who have similar body characteristics to your own.
Make a numerical system in terms of grading results when comparing one provider to another. An experienced provider should have no problem showing you at least 50 sets of before and after pictures of this very common procedure. highly experienced surgeons will have hundreds or even thousands of before and after pictures.
Look for consistent quality work and the above stated categories.
Understand clearly if you’re a good candidate, average candidate or not such a great candidate for the procedure. This will have a big impact on the type of results you should expect from the procedure.
Understanding your candidacy and choosing the right surgeon are the most important variables for the procedure. The chance of you needing a blood transfusion is not.
Obviously bleeding, blood loss limits and respect of religious believes are very important and it will be taken seriously but are in reality statistically low chance of being serious issues.
These procedures are permanent any reversible. Ending up with a result that is not what you had hoped for or lower quality than what it should be is a very real risk that’s easily avoidable through proper physician selection.
Proper physician vetting through multiple consultations is the key to consistent quality results.
Choose the right plastic surgeon and everything works out just fine.
Best,
Mats Hagstrom MD