By: Grant Stevens, MD

Diabetic patients sometimes receive mixed messages about their options and eligibility for cosmetic surgery. This is definitely an issue that needs to be addressed on an individual basis, but here are 3 key factors to help you evaluate your options if you have diabetes and are thinking of having breast enlargement in Los Angeles

1. Be Realistic

Breast augmentation is only appropriate for diabetic patients who are:

• Within a healthy weight range
• Free of significant other health issues (related or unrelated to their condition)
• Responsible about maintaining a healthy lifestyle and controlling their diabetes

It’s important for you to be able to respect the fact that your condition may make breast augmentation inappropriate for you, or may require you to wait. Shopping around until you find “a surgeon, any surgeon” who will perform your procedure can be a recipe for disaster.

If you are a candidate for surgery from a reputable plastic surgeon, speak with him or her in detail so that you feel you understand fully what to expect. For example: scarring is an extra risk for many diabetic patients, but choosing a good Los Angeles breast augmentation surgeon and keeping your blood sugar under control are the best things you can do to prevent unsightly scars.

2. Know the Risks

Be honest with yourself: both Type I and Type II diabetes pose extra challenges for any type of surgery, and for your health and results it’s up to you to be consistent and proactive about how you control your condition. Keep in mind that:

• Blood chemistry can influence healing and immunity dramatically, so diabetic patients typically heal much slower than the average patient. This can be especially true for larger-scale procedures such as breast augmentation, face lift, and tummy tuck, which require extra healing time because they adjust muscles along with the soft tissues.
• Emotion affects blood sugar levels, which affect healing, so you will need to take extra care to monitor yourself before and after your breast augmentation surgery.

3. Communicate

Be wary of surgeons who agree to perform surgery without ever having seen you, who do not require clearance from your endocrinologist, or who do not make the effort to work with him or her to make your surgery a “team effort.”

It’s your safety, your health, and your results – make sure that both your endocrinologist and your breast enhancement surgeon understand as much as possible about your condition and procedures.