I'm a Kidney Transplant Recipient. Can I Have A Tummy Tuck?

Thank you for your question.

Yes, you can have a tummy tuck but you will be at increased risk for complications compared to the general population.

To discuss in detail and be informed, see two or more board-certified plastic surgeons in your area for a full and complete evaluation to make sure you are a good candidate and that it is safe for you to have surgery. I hope this helps.

Hello,

Congratulations on your long term success with your transplant.  There is no reason whatsoever not to have a tummy tuck, as long as there are no other medical issues like obesity, diabetes, heart disease, or previous blood clots. Your immunosuppresant medication does increase your risk for infection or wound healing, but only minimally.  I have performed a tummy tuck twice on kidney transplant patients without any problems.

Best of luck!

The best person to ask would probably be your transplant surgeon.  Personally, I doubt that other than MAYBE a little skin-only tummy tuck it is unlikely anyone is going to offer you surgery.  The bigger picture view: you are off dialysis and have your life back to a large extent, why potentially mess that up?  I have not done a tummy tuck on a transplant patient, nor breast implants, nor breast reduction.  I certainly have fixed wounds and removed skin cancers on transplant patients, but those were not cosmetic issues.  If your transplant doctor allows it, as the operating surgeon I would have a discussion with them pre-operatively about what has changed in the world of transplants that allowed them to give that answer.  I know medications change/improve over time so my answer may change as well.  Best of luck to you.

Thank you for the question.Yes, plastic surgical procedures can be done safely for patients with a variety of different “medical conditions”. Careful evaluation and treatment of the medical condition is necessary prior to determining the appropriate candidates for the tummy tuck procedure. In your case this would be best done by your internist and nephrologist. These physicians know your situation best and would be best suited to discuss your suitability for the procedure and the potentially increased risks/ complications that you should consider very carefully. Once these doctors provide you "medical clearance", please make sure you are seeking consultation with well experienced board-certified plastic surgeons who preferably work with board-certified anesthesiologists in fully accredited surgery facilities. Then, careful communication between all the doctors involved will be helpful when it comes to providing you with optimal care. Please make sure that you keep your overall health/safety as the first priority. Best wishes.

You will have a larger risk for complications down the road so yes you can have a tummy tuck but you also need to be very careful to avoid long term complications. A full complete evaluation at our centers could help you determine if its safe to do perform a Tummy Tuck procedure on you.

Congratulations on your successful transplant!

The simple answer to your question is: yes, you can have a tummy tuck done as a renal transplantation patient.

As you are likely aware from your experiences with medicine and surgery, complications can occur with almost any treatment. Being on an immunosuppressive medication does increase your risk of infection, but all risks are relative and in itself this does not mean that you can't have surgery.

I recommend that your surgeon, anaesthetist and transplant physician are all involved in the decision making with you, so that each professional can discuss the risks and to ensure that everyone is "on the same page". In addition to speaking with you, each specialist may well have questions for the others about how they can work together to minimise the likelihood of problems both before, during and after the surgery.

Good luck!

Yes you can. The key is that the kidney is in an extrabdominal location so no muscle plication would be done. It would be a skin only excisional tummy tuck. I have done this twice in kidney transplant patients (sisters) without any healing problems. Attention has to also be paid to where the previous abdominal incision is.

The short answer is yes, you can have an abdominoplasty after a kidney transplant. I have done a that and you will need to coordinate treatment between your plastic surgeon and your nephrologist and transplantation team.

 

Robin T.W. Yuan, M.D.

As always, it depends on a number of factors.  Wound healing is significantly affected by chronic immunosuppression so you have to consider what would happen if you had a major wound problem.  Would your kidney be put at risk?  What is your BMI?  The larger the patient, the higher risk of problems.  Personally, I would probably not take that on out of fear of making your health worse.

There are two issues in this question: One relating to the safety of the surgery, and the other relating to the outcome of the cosmetic procedure.

The safety and long-term effect can only be answered by your treating transplant team. From the procedure standpoint, a typical abdominoplasty does not enter the abdominal cavity, and does not interfere with what was done for the transplant, provided no unusual event occurred during surgery, a copy of the operative report will be needed by your plastic surgeon. As far as the cosmetic outcome there are the scars their location and what can be achieved, and lastly there are the issues of infection and blood clots you may be at a higher risk for.