A patient’s age is in itself not a reason not to have plastic surgery. However it may be best to perform large surgeries at separate times. The proper accreditations and credentials of support personnel are also important for patient safety.
It is our protocol to obtain a cardiac stress test in all patients undergoing an anesthetic over the age of 50. A stress echocardiogram may also be wise, depending on the circumstances.
These tests give an additional margin of assurance against complications. Both surgeries you mention are incredibly gratifying for the patient. (Brent Moelleken, MD, Beverly Hills Plastic Surgeon)
As others have said, it is not your age, but your health. You would need a primary care doctor to see you and do a complete physical exam and physical. You would also require an EKG and chest x ray.
If all those are good and you are in good health than defiantly do the surgery and make yourself look as young as you feel. (Kari L. Colen, MD, New York Plastic Surgeon)
Your health is what counts – not your age
Age is reletive – as long as you are healthy have have reasonable expectations, this surgery can be for you.
See an experienced plastic surgeon and make sure they answer all of your questions and get medical clearance and you should be good to go. (William B. Rosenblatt, MD, New York Plastic Surgeon)
You overall health is more important than your age.
Typically your age is less important than your overall health. In preparing for plastic surgery it is highly likely that you will be asked to undergo a medical evaluation including a history and physical examination as well as laboratory testing and EKG and chest x-rays to assess your general health. In the process, obvious conditions which make you an unsuitable candidate will be assessed. (Otto Joseph Placik, MD, Chicago Plastic Surgeon)
It is dependent on your health more than anything else. I would recommend a full work up with your primary doctor first. Get in the best shape you can. If there is a concern, you can stage the produres and that may be safer.
It depends on your wants and health.
In someone that is healthy and understands that we cannot make you a prefect body, these procedures are very reasonable. One of my happiest patients was a woman over 70 that had this combination.
That was quite a few years ago and I still hear from her. The major risk in this age group is use of hormone replacement that increases the risk of blood clots in the legs. If you are on such, we recommend that you stop as far before surgery as possible. (Robert T. Buchanan, MD, Highlands Plastic Surgeon)
60 years old not too old for tummy tuck and breast reduction
60 is the NEW 40 these days; But – only IF you are healthy. All operations have complications;
The unwanted, bad side effects that are not foreseeable or preventable. When people are classified by risk factors, young/healthy people are classified as ASA Class I. But as soon as we go over age 35, regardless of health, anesthesiologists classify our risk as Class II.
But if we have major health issues at that age, people get pushed into class III. We often see people aged 61 who are class II’s and 45 year olds who are ASA class III risk. (I suspect though there where he is, beautiful Northern California, the people largely have much healthier life styles than in the Mid-South where I practice. I probably see more 45 year olds who are class III’s and he sees more 61 year olds who are ASA class I’s). Bottom line – check with your doctor. A cardiac stress test may even be required to make sure there are no known cardiac abnormalities. If all checks well, I would have no conceptual problem with operating on you. (Peter A. Aldea, MD, Memphis Plastic Surgeon)
There are very healthy 61 year-old patients who could undergo both procedures at once. We try, with the use of an assistant, to limit those procedures to less than 5 hours. Make sure you have a medical evaluation and clearance by your primary care doctor.
If you don’t smoke, don’t have diabetes and have minimal health issues, you may be a candidate. Age is not as much an issue as your health. We have rejected 45 year-olds and accepted 65 year-olds who were in better health!. (Francisco Canales, MD, Santa Rosa Plastic Surgeon)
Your level of fitness and general health should dictate whether you can tolerate an elective cosmetic surgical procedure. I don’t have a arbitrary cutoff for age but I do highly recommend that you get a complete physical before your elective cosmetic surgery.
The decision to separate or combine the two procedure is really based on you health and anticipated length of surgery. In general for outpatient surgery, I prefer to keep the total length of surgery 6 hours or less. If the surgery is longer than that, then I would recommend that you either perform the surgery at a hospital and plan for an overnight stay. Another option is to stage the procedure.
Do you one that you really wanted to do first. Let it heal then pursue the second procedure. Make sure that you have a thorogh consultation and discussion with your plastic surgeon. (Stewart Wang, MD, FACS, Los Angeles Plastic Surgeon)
No in a word, using 60 as a magic number to determine what surgery is appropriate is not based on sound medical judgment. Overall health is the most important factor. A good evaluation by your medical doctor wound be needed. If your health is good then you can consider surgery and possible both at the same time. The size of your breast and abdomen are also very important because the larger they are the longer each procedure would take. A goal would be to keep the procedure under 6 hours because if the surgery goes over 6 hours the chances of complications go up. Pain in both areas have to be considered also and each patients tolerance to pain. The decision to do both should be made after consultation with a qualified surgeon. (Walter D. Gracia, MD, Arlington Plastic Surgeon)
It’s the physiological age that matters, not the chronological age.
In New York, we have an arbitrary cut off of 60 years old to do abdominoplasty and breast reduction together. But this is obviously flexible, because it’s your physiological age that matters.
Some 60 year olds act and feel 40,and some 60 year olds have the health of an 80 year old. So if your weight is normal, and you are in excellent health, it’s fine to do both operations together. (George J. Beraka, MD (retired), Manhattan Plastic Surgeon)
Elective Surgery related to Health Condition (and age)
The answer really depends on your overall health status. If you are “fit as a fiddle”, it might be reasonable to consider the combined procedure. In aesthetic surgery, we have to balance the expected outcome vs the risk taken to achieve it.
You should be evaluated by a board certified plastic surgeon who commonly performs those procedures and have your health status reviewed. The older you get, the more likely some organ systems are not functioning at their ideal status, so the possibility of problems increases.
It may be smart to stage the operations, performing the one that you are most interested in first, and then proceeding with the other component at a later date once you have fully recovered. Don’t give up hope – go speak with a good surgeon!(Michael A. Bogdan, MD, FACS, Dallas Plastic Surgeon)
You can have body contouring surgery at any age
Your age does not preclude you from having a tummy tuck and/or a breast reduction. Your overall health is much more important. If you do not have any significant medical problems, are in good physical condition, are close to your ideal body weight, and don’t use tobacco products, you may be an ideal candidate for surgery. In addition, prior to a breast reduction, it is important to have had a mammogram within the past year, in accordance with American Cancer Society Guidelines. You will benefit from a thorough evaluation by a board-certified plastic surgeon. (Sam Jejurikar, MD, Dallas Plastic Surgeon)