Combined breast surgery and abdominoplasty: strategies for success

Abdominoplasty and breast surgery are frequently appealing to patients as combined procedures. The practice of combining abdominoplasty with other procedures originates from abdominoplasty performed in conjunction with intraabdominal or gynecologic surgery. Initially, the focus of combined surgery was on ensuring safety and minimizing local (e.g., wound healing) complications. As surgeons began combining abdominoplasty with distant procedures such as breast surgery, because the individual procedures have little adverse impact on one another and are not altered because of the combination, concerns with systemic morbidity surpassed the initial focus on avoiding local complications. Prevention of venous thromboembolism became a paramount concern. The authors perform abdominoplasty in conjunction with other procedures more frequently than in isolation, reflecting broader societal demand. Indeed, because of the effects of pregnancy and aging, abdominoplasty is being performed in conjunction with breast surgery with frequency sufficient to have driven the term "mommy makeover" into mainstream parlance. Consideration regarding length of surgery and the other recommendations in this report allows for the safe and successful execution of this common combination.