One of the frequent questions I get asked is how many different procedures can be done in a single surgery. The origin of that question has different origins. For some patients it is a desire to do a ‘makeover’ of either their face or body which requires numerous procedures to do so. Another reason is that in traveling some distance for surgery, as almost all of my patients do in my practice, there is motivation to maximize the return on their effort. This leads to the frequent request for numerous procedures.
While there are many aesthetic plastic surgery that do not involve implants for their effects there are numerous face and body procedures that do. The majority of such aesthetic implants are done in younger patients, both male and female, for face and body reshaping. Because of their younger age and good health they are a lot more tolerant of the stress of surgery…not to mention that have high motivations for undergoing these type of surgical changes.
Which brings us back to the question of how much surgery, or for this discussion, how many implants can be placed during the same surgery. I have a recent patient who underwent thirteen (13) different implants during the same surgery. These included a custom jawline (1), bilateral custom infraorbital-malar implants (2), lateral standard temporal (2), pectoral (2), calf (4) and testicle implants. (2) Total surgical time was 8 hours. He tolerated the surgical procedure well, stayed overbite in my surgery center and returned home 4 days after the surgery.
Despite this extraordinary implant surgery and, to date, an uncomplicated recovery from it, this is for the extremely qualified patient. What makes a qualified patient for any extensive surgery is their level of motivation, prior surgical experience, support system in the early recovery period, having adequate time for recovery and the acceptance of increased risks that come with multi-implant surgery.
A case like this one illustrates which can be done surgically in the properly selected patient…not necessarily what should be done for most patients. Even if a patient wanted all of these face and body implants, most should separate the surgery into two stages (face and body) for a less difficult recovery.
Dr. Barry Eppley
World-Renowned Plastic Surgeon