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Liposuction

How safe is Liposuction?

Lipoplasty or Suction Lipectomy (liposuction) is one the most frequent procedures performed in cosmetic surgery in many countries around the world. Although this procedure is very safe, there are still serious risks that may attend this procedure. For example the death rate as a result of liposuction is about 1/5000.

It must be remembered that liposuction is performed by many health care practitioners that are not trained in Plastic Surgery. Dermatologists, Internists, Gynecologists, Oral Surgeons, Otolarynologists, and even some dentists have been known to perform liposuction. Liposuction should be performed in a facility that has the equipment and personnel to deal with life threatening situations.

The American Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery created a task force for establishing the risks of Liposuction. Among the risk factors that are known for liposuction, they named the following as most important:

• Injecting too much fluid;
• Removing too much fat;
• Performing too many procedures at the same time;
• Performing the procedure for the wrong indication;
• Inadequate monitoring of the patient after large volume liposuction.

In the past several years, the American Society of Plastic Surgeons has recommended a maximum of 5000cc of fat removal in one day. Since this rule has been established the number of deaths as a result of liposuction performed by Board Certified Plastic Surgeons has dramatically decreased.

Obviously prevention of problems is the best way to avoid complications. The most important factors that come into the equation of safe liposuction are:

• A healthy and suitable surgical candidate.
• A well trained plastic surgeon.
• A qualified anesthesiologist.
• An accredited surgical facility.