Are You “Too Old” For a Tummy Tuck?

Most of my tummy tuck patients are in the 30-to-50 age range, but every so often a patient who’s a good deal older will meet with me to find out whether they can have a tummy tuck. Sometimes I’ll advise against these surgeries simply because abdominoplasty is one of the more invasive surgeries and in some cases it might just be demanding too much from the patient’s body.

With that said, when the patient’s expectations are realistic and the physical factors line up properly, there’s really no reason that age alone should prevent someone from getting a tummy tuck.

Here are a few things I would expect to see from a patient of a mature age who wants a tummy tuck in Beverly Hills:

• Healthy exercise habits and excellent motility
• Good respiratory health and tissue vascularity
• Absence of diabetes or other conditions that could compromise the healing process (or require medications that could cause problems like blood clots)
• A genuine desire to see this procedure improve their quality of life

That last point isn’t technically a “must” for surgery, but in general I find that patients who are more invested in their procedure and have a stronger desire to see their results heal more quickly are happier with the healing process and the outcome. For both younger and older patients, a tummy tuck often means a chance to restore quality of life. And both younger and older patients are more likely to be happy with their surgery when they not only recognize the opportunity to improve quality of life, but also set specific goals and plans for how they want to enjoy their new shape.

Tags: tummy tuck beverly hills

This entry was posted on Tuesday, November 3rd, 2009 at 8:56 pm and is filed under Abdominoplasty. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.