Question: 

I will have tummy tuck surgery next month.  I am 46 and slightly overweight.  I am considering a breast lift as well.  Is it best to combine the two procedures?  Is there any danger to this? 

Answer: 

Many people choose to get a tummy tuck and a breast lift at the same time.  The biggest danger in having these procedures combined is increased, albeit small, risk of anesthetic complications.  The longer time a patient spends under anesthesia, the greater the anesthetic risk.  

These risks include deep venous thrombosis or blood clots in the leg, pulmonary embolus and other complications which although rare need to be discussed.  

You need to discuss with your surgeon the risks just stated and ask the surgeon how combining the procedures increases the time of anesthetic.  

If it is felt that increasing the time of surgery outweighs the potential benefits of one procedure under one anesthesia, then you should consider breaking those procedures up into two separate surgeries.  However, if the surgeon is confident that he can do both procedures in a reasonable period of time and he has a surgical assistant that will decrease the amount of time under anesthesia, I feel it probably is safe to undergo these procedures simultaneously. 

Posted by:  Dr. Siporin