There’s no question that being close to your ideal body weight improves the results from tummy tuck surgery. It also decreases the potential for complications with this type of surgical procedure. For these reasons, we prefer that patients be within 10% of their ideal body weight at the time of surgery.Unfortunately, reaching an ideal weight is easier said than done. The vast majority of patients are unsuccessful at losing this additional weight. It’s also important to realize that even when patients are over weight, they can potentially benefit from abdominoplasty. We therefore evaluate every patient on an individual basis.
We encourage patients to lose weight before surgery and prefer that their weight be stable for at least three months. We realize that some patients will have difficulty losing weight. We therefore encourage patients to be in a supervised weight loss program. Even with that help, some patients will be unsuccessful in their effort to lose weight. Even without weight loss, many of these patients will still potentially benefit from tummy tuck surgery.
It’s important to realize that weight loss following tummy tuck surgery can affect the final result. This could even result in the need for revisional surgery. For these reasons, it’s important to thoroughly discuss this issue with your plastic surgeon.
