Splenectomy and spinal fusion - What are the before and after precautions with spleen? (Photo)

Patients who have had their spleen removed can be at increased risk for unusual blood counts, blood clot disorders and potential increase risk for infections. Most patients do fine but I’m guessing most plastic surgeons may ask you to get medical clearance from an internist or potentially hematologist.
If you opt to undergo a full tummy tuck then you should make sure you discuss the surgeons approach regarding your current abdominal scar. Your current scar has contractile scar tissue that will significantly inhibit skin elasticity. For that reason in order to get a good tummy tuck result your current scar should be excised as part of the tummy tuck. If the surgeon fails to recognize the importance of removing the scar tissue during your procedure your tummy tuck result may be significantly limited.
This is something you should discuss during in person consultations and it should be clear upfront whether the surgeon is planning on it exercising your current scar as part of the procedure or not.
I suggest you start the process by having multiple in person consultations with local board-certified plastic surges to see what each one has to say.
Turn the consultation ask each provider specifically how they plan on managing your current scar. Also ask them to share their entire collection before and after pictures.
It would be ideal if they had previous patients who have had a midline scars so you can get an idea of what other patients results have looked like.
Simply seeing a handful of pre-selected pictures which most likely represent the best results of a provider‘s career is insufficient to get a clear understanding of what the average results look like in the hands of each provider. For that reason patients should ask providers to show as many before and after pictures as possible.Things to look for in regards to results include getting natural looking belly buttons with low sets cars that follow anatomic contours naturally. Getting a natural looking bellybutton is one of the hardest parts of doing a tummy tuck and surgeons who get consistent natural looking belly buttons tend to be good at doing these procedures. It’s also important to look at results from different angles preferably from the side and if possible from behind.
A good plastic surgeon will adjust the procedure so that the entire torso looks good from all angles.
Finally I recommend reading all reviews on various physician review websites avoiding providers with any significant number of justified negative reviews.
The absence of justified negative reviews is more important and more telling than having an abundance of positive reviews.
When in doubt slow down and schedule more consultations. There’s a substantial difference in outcomes among different surgeons and that is in the patient’s best interest to properly vet providers carefully before committing to permanent and irreversible procedures.Best,
Mats Hagstrom MD