Often patients ask for several areas of the body to be corrected in a single operation. Most of these requests come from patients who have lost a lot of weight.
Combined operations reduce the number of surgical stages and solve several problems in one operation. The treatment costs less, given the smaller number of general anesthesias and preoperative examinations and the shorter total hospital stay.
Before the operation
Before the operation, patients are examined very thoroughly. Only good health allows combined operations to be done without an increased risk of complications. The stages of the operation and the alternatives are discussed with the patient. Two weeks before the operation, medicines that increase bleeding, especially aspirin and anti-inflammatory drugs, are stopped. All patients who smoke must stop smoking two weeks before the operation.
Combinations of cosmetic plastic surgery
There are various combinations of cosmetic plastic surgery, depending on the areas of the body. The most common combination on the face is a facelift with blepharoplasty. On the body, the most requested is abdominoplasty and liposuction with repair of diastasis recti (suturing the rectus abdominis muscles). In some cases, abdominoplasty is combined with hernia repair (umbilical, linea alba or incisional hernia). Breast augmentation can be combined with mastopexy (breast lift). On the limbs, a thigh lift can be combined with liposuction, and sometimes with brachioplasty.
The surgical team and the procedure
Some combined operations can be done one after the other, so the operation takes longer. When the operation corrects different areas of the body, it is preferable to have two surgical teams. In that case the operation is significantly shorter and the surgical risks are lower.
For such operations, it is important that the surgical team is highly qualified and the clinic has modern equipment.
Following the principles of preoperative examination and preparation, and performing the surgical techniques perfectly, makes combined operations safe and able to solve various cosmetic and health problems*.
*Conţu Gh. Combined operations in body contour surgery. The 14th International Congress of the International Confederation for Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgery, Berlin, Germany – June 26-30, 2007
