Liposuction Dangers

Like any medical procedure, liposuction is not without some risk.

Like any surgical procedure, there are risks associated with liposuction. You should consult carefully with your doctor and understand all of the potential liposuction danger before making up your mind. It’s important to weigh the risks and benefits, and not to be swayed by outside influence. Remember, there is no reason to rush to the operating table.

Infections can occur after any surgery. Liposuction is no exception. Keeping the wound and surrounding area clean is one of the best ways to prevent an infection, regardless of what your doctor has prescribed. Even with proper care and attention, a liposuction complication can result from the surgery itself. Infections associated with liposuction, like toxic shock syndrome, can become life-threatening.

Below is a list of some typical complications of lyposuction. A moderate amount of pain and discomfort is normal after surgery, but if you suspect that you’re suffering from any complications, contact your doctor right away. It’s important to listen to your body during recovery to reduce the danger of liposuction.

• Embolisms can occur when loosened fat enters the blood through vessels that were ruptured during surgery. This fat can become trapped in blood vessels, accumulating in the lungs or even clotting in the brain. This can be severe enough to cause permanent disability or death. If you have signs or symptoms of fat emboli or stroke after surgery, seek emergency medical care right away.

• Visceral perforation, the accidental puncture of an internal organ, can be one of the most serious dangers of liposuction. Surgeons performing invasive forms of liposuction cannot see exactly where the cannula, or probe, is in the patient’s body. Even a highly skilled surgeon can make a mistake resulting in organ damage. Surgery might be needed to repair the damage. Visceral perforations can be fatal.

• Seroma, a pooling of liquid under the skin, can occur after liposuction in areas where tissue has been removed.

• Paresthesia, numbness, tingling or pain caused by nerve compression during liposuction also can occur on a short or long-term basis. If these symptoms persist for more than a week, contact your doctor right away. In some cases, this condition can be permanent.

• Edema, or swelling, can last for several months after liposuction.

• Skin necrosis, or skin death, can make the treated area vulnerable to infection. Though it’s normal for some small amount of skin to change color and fall off fairly soon after liposuction, patients who experience such a problem on a larger scale should see their doctor immediately.

• During ultrasound-assisted liposuction, the probe can become very hot, causing burns.

• The body’s natural fluid balance can be disturbed during forms of wet liposuction. Too much fluid in the body can damage the heart, kidneys and lungs. 

• Lidocaine toxicity is a common complication of anesthesia. This occurs when fluid containing too much lidocaine is injected. Symptoms include drowsiness or restlessness, lightheadedness, slurred speech, ringing in the ears, numbness, convulsions and a metallic taste in the mouth. As lidocaine toxicity can lead to heart failure, patients who suspect they show symptoms should seek immediate medical attention.

In 1997, in response to concern among the medical community and the general public, a group of board-certified plastic surgeons formed a task force to investigate the safety of liposuction. The resulting data led to increased efforts by the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ASAPS) and other similar groups to re-educate surgeons on safe liposuction practices.

The task force suggested that all liposuction practitioners take several preventive measures, like stricter patient selection, avoiding excessive fluid and anesthetics during surgery, removing a smaller amount of fat, avoiding combining liposuction with other procedures and monitoring post-op patients more carefully.

As a result, liposuction safety statistics have improved. In 2001, the Aesthetic Surgery Journal, ASAPS’s peer-reviewed publication, published the results of a major survey suggesting that the risk of death from liposuction fell dramatically. Covering thousands of procedures performed by ASAPS members, the survey reported that, when not combined with other procedures, the risk of death from liposuction was 1 in 47,515. This is almost one-tenth the rate suggested by earlier studies.

For surgeries deemed medically unnecessary, like liposuction, the generally accepted death rate is one in 100,000. The mortality rate for car accidents, by comparison, is about 16 in 100,000.

Armed with knowledge about common liposuction dangers, continue onward to read about liposuction surgery.

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