Dr. Stile on BMI and Cosmetic Surgery
Have you ever been turned away by a plastic surgeon due to your excessive weight or a high BMI? In medicine, weight is often evaluated by the metrics of Body Mass Index values. This is calculated through the relationship of height, weight, and sometimes waist circumference.
A professional athlete often has a high BMI value but is in better health than when compared to the general population. Their high BMI is a result of increased muscle mass. Muscle weighs more than fat. Our plastic surgery colleagues are often cautious to work on patients with excessive BMI due to the reported risk of heart disease and metabolic disorders associated with risk values in other fields (1).
However, the newest literature showed no difference between patients of obese BMI and average BMI patients pertaining to perioperative complications in procedures like abdominoplasties (2). Here at Stile aesthetics, we hold the North American record for largest abdominoplasty (tummy tuck procedure) weighing 9.48kg (22lb) for a patient with reported BMI of 38.7 kg/m2. Our patient went home the same day and recovered with no complications.
Our message to our patients is this: If you want to look your best and feel your best and excessive weight is keeping you wondering if you’re a good candidate for surgery, please stop by our office for a consultation so that together we can find the right approach for you.
Frank Stile MD, FACS
