Often times in my Louisville Plastic Surgery practice I encounter patients who want to know if they need to loose weight before surgery. This is particularly true for those seeking a Louisville Tummy Tuck or Louisville Liposuction.
Your BMI, or Body Mass Index, is a good tool to use to help answer this question. A normal BMI runs from 18 to 24. Anyone in this category is an acceptable candidate for surgery. Overweight is defined as a BMI of 25 to 29. Patients in this category are also good candidates.
When the BMI gets above 30, we need to take a closer look. At a BMI of 30 a person is about 35-40 pounds overweight. BMI’s of 30-40 land one in the “obese” category. Folks in this range can safely have surgery, and do everyday, but their medical history becomes more pertinent and they may be better served having surgery in a hospital setting as opposed to an outpatient setting.
Patients with a BMI above 40, which is about 100 lbs overweight, are typically not the best candidates for elective surgery in my opinion. These cases need to be considered very carefully.
Lee Corbett, MD
