Mommy makeover and mild-ish varicose vein (Photo)

Hi, thank you for sharing your question. History of varicose veins does increase your risk for developing blood clots. After a thorough history and risk assessment for post-op thromboembolism, your surgeon may opt to consult with a hematologist for recommendations or avoid surgery altogether, but I wouldn’t preclude surgery at this stage.

Hi SKjar,
Varicose veins represent a potentially modifiable risk factors for blood clots, including deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolus. Your surgeon will likely consider your overall risk, considering factors like age, body mass index, planned procedures, varicose veins, and others. You might ask your surgeon if they are using a 2005 Caprini score, or similar risk stratification tool, as suggested by the American Society of Plastic Surgeons.
Ultimately, your surgeon should be able to estimate your approximate risk for blood clots, based on your individual factors, and consider the potential risk reduction of a preemptive procedure to obliterate your varicose veins prior to schedulable aesthetic surgery. You and your surgeon can decide whether the anticipated risk reduction is worthwhile to you (since there is a tradeoff of having an additional procedure for varicose veins), and make the best decision moving forward for surgery (yes/no) and preemptive varicose vein obliteration (yes/no).
Hope this helps.
Best,Christopher Pannucci MDBoard Certified Plastic SurgeonPlastic Surgery NorthwestSpokane, Washington

In patients with history of varicose vein with symptoms that are looking for a MMO, an specific protocol is recommended that starts prior to the surgery having an evaluation with an Angiologist who can make and specific assessment with a doppler ultrasound and visualize vessels, measure blood flow and give you the clearance for surgery. After the surgery measurements like compressive stockings and anticoagulants usually is recommended. You can speak this directly with your board certified plastic surgeon, he will give you the best recommendation according to your case.

Thank you for your question regarding varicose veins and the potential for blood clots during a mommy makeover. After reviewing your history and images, here's my assessment:
1. Varicose Veins: Mild varicose veins are noticeable in the images provided. If they cause discomfort, consulting your vein specialist for possible removal via injections, lasers, or surgery is recommended.
2. Blood Clot Precautions: All surgeries carry some clot risk, particularly in higher-risk procedures like tummy tucks. For your mommy makeover, I propose:
Using sequential compression devices during surgery and the subsequent two weeks.
Considering Lovenox injections before and for two weeks post-surgery, in line with the American Society of Plastic Surgery's standard.
In my professional opinion, proceeding with the mommy makeover is reasonable, given the precautions above. This should address your concerns about varicose veins and blood clot risks.
Best regards,
Dr. Katzen

Hello, varicose veins of the lower extremities do add an extremely small risk for surgery for an otherwise healthy patient. It is one item on a grading scale in regards to the risk of a blood clot after surgery. It would not exclude you from surgery if you are otherwise healthy and it would not elevate your risk to anything that approaches an unacceptable level. Good luck.