Question:
I am not in the best health which caused me to have a minor heart attack three years ago. My dream is to get a tummy tuck but I am worried that I might not be able to because of my health condition. Is there anything that you recommend that I do in order to get in better shape for surgery?
Answer:
For any patient considering surgery, a procedure is followed where the patient is seen by their primary doctor in order to be optimized before surgery. This may involve obtaining an EKG or an echocardiogram for cardiac assessment for patients who have had a history of minor heart attack and once the patient is seen and cleared by Cardiology and optimized before surgery, then we can proceed safely with the planned procedure. There are other things that can be done such as making sure that there are no issues with blood pressure, blood levels are adequate and all of these things are usually addressed as a team effort between the plastic surgeon and the patient’s primary medical physician.
About the Author: Dr. Edwin Williams
Dr. Edwin Williams is a double board-certified facial plastic surgeon who founded The Williams Center in 1993. He has performed over 10,000 facial plastic surgery procedures and has pioneered the deep plane facelift. He served on the Board of Directors for the American Academy of Facial Plastic Surgery for over a decade, and served as President from 2015-2016. In 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019, Dr. Williams earned the Castle Connelly Top Doctors award in New York Facial Plastic Surgery.
Dr. Edwin F. Williams III attended Cornell University in Ithaca, New York where he received a Bachelor of Science degree in 1982. He began medical school at the State University of Buffalo School of Medicine and received his Doctor of Medicine in 1986.
Dr. Williams is actively involved in teaching facial plastic and reconstruction surgery to the residents of the Albany Medical Center and is former Chief of the Section of Facial and Plastic Reconstruction Surgery at Albany Medical Center where he received an academic appointment of Clinical Professor, Department of Surgery.