– By double-board certified plastic surgeon Dr. William Koenig
Maintaining a healthy weight is essential to your health, but did you know that it also has an effect on the risks of surgery, results, and healing? Cosmetic surgery procedures are mostly elective but they are still major medical procedures which carry some risk, especially when using anesthesia. Therefore, it is critical that patients meet certain criteria before undergoing a procedure.
One of the most important criteria is a patient’s body mass index, or BMI. A BMI is the relationship between a person’s height and weight. Studies show that BMI is a good predictor of potential complications that can occur from surgery. The higher the BMI, the greater the risk of complications such as blood clots, infection, poor wound healing and scarring.
In general, I recommend any of my patients considering a cosmetic procedure to have a BMI below 35. For some, this may require losing weight prior to surgery in order to ensure the highest degree of safety and to obtain optimal results. So, if you are planning to have surgery, it’s important to understand how your your BMI can impact your plastic surgery experience and surgery results. Your safety is our number-one priority.
Especially for breast surgery and body contouring surgery, maintaining an acceptable BMI is just as important post-surgery as it is pre-surgery because your results will be longer lasting if you maintain a stable weight.
Is your weight safe for surgery? Check out our handy chart to see.
For information about body contouring procedures, call the Quatela Center for Plastic Surgery at (585) 244-1000 to speak to a Patient Consultant about the options available.
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