Safe to Do Tummy Tuck and Gallbladder Surgery at Same Time?

Thank you for your question regarding whether you can perform a tummy tuck and a gallbladder removal surgery simultaneously. Plastic surgeons get this question all the time. The consensus is no; you should not combine a gallbladder removal surgery with a tummy tuck or abdominoplasty. Combining the surgeries increases the anesthesia time and increases the risk of complications. In addition, if you have a cholecystectomy and an abdominoplasty at the same time and you develop post-operative complications, it may be challenging to separate complications due to the gallbladder removal or the abdominoplasty. If you develop pain in your right upper quadrant, it is due to your gallbladder surgery or your tummy tuck surgery. If it's due to your tummy tuck surgery, we suggest further narcotics. If it's due to gallbladder complications, you may require more invasive work, including a CT scan or reoperation. Therefore, I would highly suggest you have these procedures staged. In addition, I would do the medically necessary procedure first, the removal of the gallbladder. Therefore, I vote to have the gallbladder surgery done first, wait 4-6 months, then consider an abdominoplasty. Good luck. I hope I've answered your question regarding whether you can simultaneously have a tummy tuck and gallbladder removal.
Sincerely,
Dr. Katzen

Hi there-

This is not in your best interests, although it may seem attractive to you at first blush...

Have your gallbladder out, recover, and THEN schedule your tummy tuck. You'll eventually be glad you paced yourself.

If there is any chance that your gall bladder has an infection then it would be best to do the gall bladder first and allow for complete healing before doing the abdominoplasty.  Good luck.

A tummy tuck is a prosedure that takes form 6-8 month to fully recover, if the Gallbladder surgery is a must, you should do that one first. Keep in mind your priorities but no you should not try to do such disticnt surgeries on the same day.

I have done this a few times with general surgeons. I open the abdominal skin flap first than the general surgeon does the lap chole. through the abdominal muscles. Finaly a repair the muscles and excise the extra skin fat. Long recovery almost double.

From MIAMI DR. B

Some operations CAN be combined together while others should NOT be. Combining a Gall Bladder removal (Cholecystectomy) with a Tummy Tuck is a BAD idea for several reasons:
- although the vast majority of modern gallbladder surgery is done through small key hole incisions, there is ALWAYS the possibility (bleeding, need to explore the duct between the liver and intestines for stones, unexpected liver or stomach findings etc) that you would require a formal large incision. If this is done before the Tummy Tuck, the Tummy Tuck would be postponed for a long time or forever. If this (Kocher) incision is done after a tummy tuck it may result in loss of blood supply and death of the Tummy skin below it requiring prolonged wound care and reconstructive surgery

- The bile may not be sterile (especially with a history of recurrent gallstone attacks). As the gall bladder is removed, its path may be minimally contaminated but this contamination may be spread with a Tummy Tuck done at the same time causing a serious wound infection.

It is hard to advise you on which operation to have first. If you promise NOT to have gallbladder flare ups for six months or so and not require emergency gall bladder surgery especially with an open scar, then I would have the Tummy Tuck first. If enough time passes after a tummy tuck, a potential incision under the right lowest ribs may not cause loos of the blood supply below it as the circulation would have had a chance to re-form. But, obviously you cannot promise nor guarantee such behavior. So it comes to you. if your gallbladder really hurts you have it done before sustaining worse potential complications and when you are healed and are ready have your Tummy tuck.

I would not do those two at the same time -- others might. I believe that your health comes first and that you should take care of the medical problem first. They usually do them endoscopically and use only small incisions, so you might only need to delay the tummy tuck by a month or so.

Adding intra-abdominal surgery to a tummy tuck increases the risk of blood clots and pulmonary emboli when those operations occur at the same time. Consider this carefully.

I would do the gallbladder first and try to have it done laparoscopically to limit problems with the tummy tuck later. 

Whether these should be done together or not depends on the reason for the cholecystectomy. If it is for a gangrenous gallbladder or infection, then these should not be done together. If it is for cholelithiasis (gallstones), which it sounds as if yours is, then it is very reasonable to do them together. I have, in fact, done this. The best way I have found is to elevate the abdominal flap and then have the general surgeon do the cholecystectomy through the muscles without an incision in the skin.