Courtesy of Dr. Robert Westreich
- Dr. Robert Westreich is a plastic surgeon in New York who specializes in facial surgery.
- Westreich told Insider it seems like bundling surgeries escalated during the pandemic.
- "If you're thinking of bundling, find a surgeon with humility to call in other experts," he says.
This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Dr. Robert Westreich, a plastic surgeon in New York who specializes in facial surgery. The conversation has been edited for length and clarity.
In the last few years, I've noticed that patients are more interested in "bundling" plastic surgeries than ever before. Bundling in the plastic surgery world means that you're getting more than one procedure done at the same time, like an eye lift and a face lift all in one go.
The trend of bundling plastic surgeries seems like it escalated during the pandemic
It's a sort of natural progression of the "Zoom boom" — an increase in plastic surgery after people spent so much time looking at themselves on Zoom.
As patients became more interested in booking procedures, they also had more time to look at other procedures and consider other things they might want to get done. And if you're going to have multiple surgeries, why not do them at the same time instead of having two or three or four separate surgical encounters?
Courtesy of Dr. Robert Westreich
People tend to think: "Okay, let me just get all this over with at once and let the healing happen, instead of doing it piecemeal over a few months and having to take time off for healing after each procedure."
In my medical opinion, there's no inherent risk in bundling procedures
That's why it's become more popular. For it to get risky, the surgery time would have to last longer than six to seven hours, and 90% of the time with plastic surgery, surgery doesn't last that long.
When surgery does last that long, the risk comes from recovering from the amount of anesthesia needed. If you bundle enough procedures to need an eight- to 10-hour surgery, that's when I would say it becomes risky, especially if it's all elective and cosmetic.
A doctor should be the gatekeeper of whether you bundle procedures
There are some things that shouldn't be bundled from a recovery standpoint. The classic example is that you wouldn't get a Brazilian Butt Lift (where you're not supposed to sit down for weeks afterwards) and a rhinoplasty (where you're not supposed to be lying on your face) at the same time. You want to make sure that the after-care instructions don't contraindicate each other.
Courtesy of Dr. Robert Westreich
But for something like getting brow work and eye work and a face lift and a rhinoplasty all at the same time, that wouldn't be an issue. All those procedures are facial surgery and have similar after-care instructions.
If you're thinking of bundling, make sure you find a surgeon with enough humility to call in other experts
I'm more of a facial specialist, so when a patient wants body work done at the same time as a rhinoplasty, I'll confer with a colleague and see if they can come help out. You want a surgeon who can admit they're not well versed in some areas and isn't afraid to ask a colleague to join in.
It's actually fun for us to do collaborative surgeries, as surgery can often be a lonely venture. People have always bundled facial surgeries together, but now patients are wanting to bundle procedures on different parts of the body, which is where multiple surgeons can come in.
If someone wants a facial procedure and liposuction or a breast augmentation at the same time, that may not be the work of one single doctor.
Surprisingly, recovery isn't usually elongated by multiple procedures
That's because each area that's healing is healing independently, and they don't affect each other. Assuming that you're a young, healthy person who gets a rhinoplasty and a breast augmentation, then your nose will have its own healing timeline and your breasts will have their own healing timeline. One doesn't directly interact with the others.
For patients who are considering bundling plastic surgery procedures, I would advise taking the time to choose a doctor (or doctors) who fit your case and making sure you really understand the after-care instructions.
Other than that, happy bundling!