Can I Get A Tummy Tuck If I Am Going Through Menopause?

Q: Dr. Eppley, I am currently going through menopause and I am considering a tummy tuck and I am on hormone replacements. I am having a lot of difficulty loosing the belly weight. Should I wait till menopause is over? Will the weight come back somewhere else as I have read this is what happens?

A: Going through menopause is not a contraindication to tummy tuck surgery. It in no way affects how the surgery is done, the success of the procedure, or your recovery. Its only relevance is how you feel and whether you feel good enough to go through a tummy tuck surgery with the physical and mental challenges that menopause unfairly inflicts on women. As for what happens after a lipo-abdominoplasty procedure (combined tummy tuck and waistline liposuction), there is a common misconception that fat reaccumulates elsewhere known as the fat homeostasis theory. Recent studies have shown that this is not the case and the result can be very stable if your weight does not significantly increase.

Dr. Barry Eppley

Indianapolis, Indiana