Is a Tummy Tuck a Hospital Procedure?

Most tummy tucks are performed as outpatients.  In our practice, we require all patients to stay at an aftercare facility so they can be monitored and kept comfortable.  Even in the age of  pain pumps, it is nice to spend a night in aftercare.

Many outpatient facilities (such as UCLA) offer a postoperative nights' stay at a reasonable cost if the patient prefers to have their surgery done in a hospital setting.

However most tummy tucks are performed in licensed surgical facilities, hopefully by a major accrediting body.

Your surgeon and you can decide if your health warrants performing the procedure in a hospital with a postoperative stay.

These used to be performed exclusively in the hospital but currently the vast majority are performed outside of a hospital setting as an outpatient technique. The hospital may be indicated for more seriously ill individuals or those who require multiple surgeries at the same time or have medical issues that elevate the risks of anesthesia or surgery. 

Tummy tuck can be safely done in healthy patients by a board-certified plastic surgeon at an accredited outpatient surgery facility.  My personal practice, however, is to do these at small, private speciality hospitals which are common here in Houston. 

A small hopsital offera a higher level of care (24-hr doctor in house, plus x-ray and lab facilities) and at least in my area, they are very competitive in pricing.  Again, my practice is focused on larger breast and body procedures and I do a lot of combination procedures. So in my practice, a small hospital makes the most sense.

Most tummy tucks are done on an outpatient basis. The most important things to consider from a safety aspect are choosing an experienced plastic surgeon who has hospital privileges for abdominoplasty, and an accredited facility.

Hi there-

Provided you are in good health, and you have chosen an experienced and quality plastic surgeon certified by The American Board of Plastic Surgery, you should be able to have your tummy tuck as an outpatient.

Whether this occurs in a hospital, an outpatient surgery center, or an office based surgery center will depend on your surgeon's preferences and your state of health.

You can be confident, however, that as long as your surgeon is, in fact, certified by The American Board of Plastic Surgery and is a member of The American Society of Plastic Surgeons, that whatever facility he or she operates at has been certified by a national accreditation organization, as this is a requirement of membership in these organizations (another reason to be sure to ask about these credentials!).

In most cases, tummy tuck or abdominoplasty is an outpatient procedure.  In can be performed in an accredited office-based operating room, surgicenter or hospital.  The most important thing is to make sure you are being treated by a board-certified plastic surgeon who specializes in body contouring procedures.  If the procedure is done as an outpatient, you need to ensure that you have a competent adult who can monitor you at home.  If you stay in the hospital, you are usually able to return home after one night.  Good luck.

I perform surgery at an outpatient surgery center. Most patients are usually discharged home, preferably with a nurse for one day.  It is the rare patient who, for a variety of reasons, may benefit from additional monitoring ( as an overnight stay or as an inpatient).  Regardless, when you are discharged home it is important to have a good support system to help you during the healing process ( the more help the better).  Generally speaking, “mommy makeover” procedures are associated with a very significant physical ( and often emotional) recovery period,  often underestimated by patients. Best wishes. 

A tummy tuck can be performed in a hospital setting or in an accredited surgery center.  This is determined based upon numerous factors including the patient's overall health.

A tummy tuck can be performed in a hospital if the surgeon has privileges there, but here in Atlanta we have our own surgical center in the same building as our office. It is an outpatient procedure so you can go home the same day. Make sure that the surgical facility you choose is certified. One type of certification is JCHACO which is the standard to which hospital operating rooms are held.

The vast majority of Plastic surgeons perform Tummy Tuck Surgery (Abdominoplasty) as an outpatient procedure. It can be done in an outpatient setting (Hospital or surgery center) or an office surgical facility. (For YOUR safety make sure the facility you are planning to have your Cosmetic Surgery in is either MEDICARE Certified or AAAASF certified and that your surgeon is a member of The American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS all of whose members are board certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery).

In rare cases, a patient may require further care and may need to be kept in the facility overnight for observation. For this reason, do your homework and understand your options.

Dr. Peter Aldea