What are the pros and cons of having an upper body lift at once compared to having it done in seperate sessions?

I try to limit my surgeries to a maximum of 6 hours. The "Body lift" is a procedure I commonly perform with very good results and a high degree of patient satisfaction. I would recommend doing it in one session for optimal and immediate results, avoiding partial outcomes that might be discouraging. Moreover, if you add up the costs of the three procedures done separately, the total expense is much higher than if you opt for a single-session approach.

Dear cauliflowerisaflower,
I understand your concern. It is best however that you consult with a board certified plastic surgeon to determine whether you can have several aesthetic surgeries in one session, as this would depend on various factors including but not limited to your general health condition, the type of anesthesia that will be used, and the type of surgeries that will be performed among others
Daniel Barrett, MDCertified, American Board of Plastic SurgeryMember, American Society of Plastic SurgeryMember, American Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery

Hi Cauliflowerisaflower,
Thank you for your question regarding the pros and cons of having an upper body lift done at once compared to having it done in separate sessions. Thank you for this interesting question.
Unfortunately, an "upper body lift" is a very vague term. First, we need to define what an upper body lift entails. An upper body lift can include any of the following procedures: arm liposuction, crescent or longitudinal arm lift or reduction, vertical or horizontal back lift or reduction, crescent or anchor breast reduction, crescent or anchor breast lift, and breast augmentation. An upper body lift can include all the procedures or just some of them.
The pros of undergoing an upper body lift in one session include one anesthesia, one recovery period with weekly follow-up visits, and one period of time off work. Another advantage is that the time course is much shortened if the procedures are all done in one session. Also, you are in pain for only a limited time and may not need to take pain medication for too long.
The cons of having an upper body lift in one surgery include a longer time under anesthesia. Also, there is an increased chance of more blood loss during a single procedure compared to separating the procedures. Increased blood loss can lead to the need for a blood transfusion. Another disadvantage of having an upper body lift in one procedure is that it requires a longer incision line for you to heal. The longer incision line will require increased metabolic demands and increased requirements for protein intake.  Also, one surgery extends the surgical time and increases the chances of infection.
The pros of undergoing an upper body lift in separate procedures include shorter times under anesthesia and allowing your body to heal one step at a time. Also, if you underwent multiple staged upper body lift surgeries and required touch-ups of any of the prior surgeries, these touch-ups could be performed during the second and third sessions.
The cons of undergoing an upper body lift in separate sessions include multiple anesthesia sessions and multiple recovery periods with many visits to the office. Another disadvantage of undergoing an upper body lift in multiple stages is that it requires extended periods of time off work. Separating procedures will leave you in more pain than having the procedure performed at one time. Increased pain means a potential increase in consumption of narcotics, which can possibly lead to narcotic dependency and addiction. The cons of separate upper body lift surgeries include increased chances of blood clots and pulmonary emboli compared to a single-session upper body lift.
I hope that I have answered your question regarding the pros and cons of having an upper body lift at once compared to having it done in separate sessions. Good luck. Sincerely, Dr. Katzen

An upper body lift should easily be able to be performed as a single procedure so that you have one operation and one recovery. This assumes, however, that you have the proper facility to do it in and proper anesthesia and the surgeon can complete the procedure in 6 hours or less. Performing this as 2 operations would be more costly and require you to have two recoveries. Speak with you plastic surgeon in detail. Best wishes.

Hi! This is Arzu from Dr. Kaçmaz Clinic. The benefits are you will take anestesia once, you will have post op pains only once, and the price will be better.
Kind regards

You must must acknowledge that all After Weight Loss surgeries represents very long and invasive procedures, so safety is crucial to prevent the high risk of complications associated with long procedures (more than 6 hours) and the combination of multiples surgery and different anatomical areas which means a lot of trauma to the body.
It is safer to do shorter procedures every 5-6 months instead of doing 1@-12-14 hours surgery.
My approach as expert on After Weight loss surgery is to start with Lower Body lift which in my hands means: Circumferential skin resection, mons lift/reduction, muscle repair, real buttocks lift, lovehandles tightening, some liposuction and If needed fat grafting to buttocks/hips/thighs , 6 months later upper body lift which in my hands means braquioplasty, lipo to arms, lateral torsoplasty, sometimes back lift and breast/chest lift.
Be encouraged.
Dr. Cárdenas

Combining procedures is common and considered safe, but there is a limit. Typically board certified plastic surgeons limit surgical time to about six hours. If you have multiple procedures that can be performed correctly within that time, and you are in good general health, many choose to do so. This allows for one trip to the operating room, one time under anesthesia, and one recovery. However after major weight loss, many patients find that better results come with staging the procedures. I encourage you to meet with a board certified plastic surgeon near you to discuss what is recommended for you.

Call there are a few reasons why surgeons sometimes recommend doing surgery in stages. Sometimes it’s simply the total amount of surgery including hours in the operating room blood loss and overall stress on both the patient and the surgeon.
Some procedures will have increased complication rates, if done together, or if excessive numbers of cases are done at the same time. Without context, seeing pictures or knowing more, it’s hard to give you any real useful information.
If you have a plastic surgeon that I suggest you follow up with that provider to have him or her, explain their rationale for their recommendations.
If you don’t have a provider, then I suggest scheduling multiple in person consultations with plastic surgeons in your community.
The following are some general guidelines, that may be helpful in regards to finding the best provider, minimizing disappointment and maximizing, long-term quality outcomes
To find the best provider, I suggest patient schedule multiple in person consultations with experienced plastic surgeons in their community. During each consultation, ask each provider to open up their portfolio and show you their entire collection of before and after pictures of previous patients who have similar body or facial characteristics to your own. An experienced plastic surgeon should have no difficulty showing you the before and after pictures of at least 50 previous patients. An experienced provider should in fact have hundreds or preferably thousands of before and after pictures to choose from for commonly performed procedures.
Being shown a handful of preselected images, representing the best results of a provider’s career is insufficient to get a clear understanding of what average results will look like in the hands of each provider.
There is no correct number of consultations needed to find the best provider. The more consultations you scheduled the more likely you are to find the best provider for your needs.
Take careful notes during each consultation, especially regarding the quantity and quality of before and after pictures. It’s not a bad idea to bring pictures of your own body/face to use as reference when reviewing before and after pictures.
The biggest mistake patients make is scheduling only one consultation without properly vetting or comparing providers before scheduling surgery.
Best,
Mats Hagstrom, MD

Hello, the advantage of performing all operations at the same time is that it is less expensive and allows you to achieve the desired result in less time overall.Separating it produces better scarring and lowers the complication rate.