Can Breast Reduction Be Done With Liposuction?

Multiple procedure depends on your health status

Breast reduction and liposuction are generally considered safe procedures that can usually be combined. In fact, liposuction of the lateral chest wall is often done in conjunction with breast reduction to improve the contour of the chest.

Many patients are interested in having as many procedures as possible in one session. This allows them to take less time away from work by combining the recovery from all the procedure. It also allows the patients to save money on the anestheisa and facility fees.

Keep in mind that the combination of all these procedures will increase the duration of your surgery. Furthermore, recovering after multiple procedures is generally more difficult. (A. Peter Salas, MD, Manhattan Plastic Surgeon)

41 Y.o. Female – Bilateral Reduction With High Def Vaser Lipo Sculpture Etching Of The Abdomen With Dr Moises Salama, MD, Miami Plastic Surgeon (1)

Multiple procedures of liposuction and breast reduction

Is it safe to have multiple procedures? There are so many variable that come into play. Just a few to note include: a patient’s medical history, the expected amount of blood loss, the total operating time. (Steven Wallach, MD, New York Plastic Surgeon)

Within limits…

As long as you are under the care of a Board Certified Plastic Surgeon, and a good anesthesia provider, the combination procedure should be safe within limits familiar to your surgeon… I think as long as the surgery is not too long (5-7 hours) and you are healthy, the advantages outweigh the risks. (Armando Soto, MD, FACS, Orlando Plastic Surgeon)

Safe to have breast reduction and lipo at same time

It depends on the patients medical history, smoking status, and overall fitness. In a young individual, combining breast reduction with liposuction of about 2000-3000 cc does not necessarily increase operative risk by a large magnitude.

41 Y.o. Female – Bilateral Reduction With High Def Vaser Lipo Sculpture Etching Of The Abdomen With Dr Moises Salama, MD, Miami Plastic Surgeon (2)

However, if the patient has some underlying medical problems, is not physically fit, or has excessively large breasts (which can take a longer time to complete), or has a lot of volume for liposuction, then it would be best to stage the procedures.

Do one first, then do the second one at a later date. This will keep the overall surgical risk at a lower level.

This is an excellent conversation for you to have with your plastic surgeon.

I’m not sure which category you fall under, but hopefully your plastic surgeon has given you a lot of good information about your risk level. (Sirish Maddali, MD, Portland Plastic Surgeon)

If you are heathy, this is a safe combination.

I often combine breast reduction with liposuction, but keep the liposuction volume to no more than 2000 to 3000 cc’s. This should not take more than 4 to 5 hours. (George J. Beraka, MD (retired), Manhattan Plastic Surgeon)

Multiple procedures during one O.R. session

Breast Reduction Lift W Axilla Lipo With Doctor Mark Eberbach, MD, Tampa Plastic Surgeon

In my experience, it is safe to have breast reduction and liposuction during one session in the operating room, and this is corroborated in the surgical literature as well.

The situation needs to be “customized” by the patient and surgeon depending on multiple factors:

  • Surgeon’s comfort and experience
  • Patient’s health and risk factors
  • Anticipated post-op down time
  • Do the operations work well together? (Barry H. Dolich, MD, Bronx Plastic Surgeon)

Only if it is safe…

Dr. Disnalda Matos, MD, Dominican Republic Plastic Surgeon 27 Years Old Female Treated For Giant Breast And Abdomen Lipodistrophy

The totality of your procedures should be assessed by your surgeon. The advantages to combining the procedures is possibly lower cost and one recovery period. The disadvantages might be increased risk due to surgical trauma, swellng,and bleeding.

Your particular situation should be individually appraised by your durgeon as to what he is comfortable doing. While I have done this combination,and even more in one sitting, I generally try to limit elective surgical time to 6-7 hours.
But you also have to consider the type and magnitude of reduction and the total body surface area to be liposuction as this procedure produces what amounts to an internal “burn” with edema and leakage of intravenous fluid. (Robin T.W. Yuan, MD, Beverly Hills Plastic Surgeon)

Breast Reduction and Liposuction?

This combination of surgery can be done together assuming you are in good health, that the extent of surgery (for example blood loss) is reasonable, that you are in the hands of a well experienced board-certified plastic surgeon and anesthesiologist in a fully accredited surgery center facility/hospital.

It would be best to break the procedures into two stages if you have concerns regarding the safety and/or aesthetic results of the procedure. (Tom J. Pousti, MD, FACS, San Diego Plastic Surgeon)