Body Plastic Surgery Procedures in Philadelphia

Liposuction Cosmetic Surgery

Liposuction, or liposculpture, is the most common cosmetic surgical procedure in the United States. Traditionally, liposuction was associated with an outpatient surgical setting, where excess fat was removed and patients experienced rapid recovery and gratifying results. In recent years, procedures have become more ambitious with larger amounts of fat being removed. Though this process frequently allows for more dramatic results, it has unfortunately been associated with serious complications, including death.

Because liposuction remains an attractive cosmetic procedure, patients want to know if liposuction is fundamentally safe and, if so, how they can make sure their particular procedure is done safely.

Procedure Information

Liposuction is conceptually simple. A healthy patient with areas of excess fat has these areas reduced by vacuuming the fat through small metal tubes called cannulas. This procedure is frequently done on an outpatient basis under general anesthesia in a hospital or accredited surgical facility. Most liposuction begins with the surgeon infiltrating a solution into the fatty tissues to be suctioned. This solution is mostly salt water, but also contains adrenaline to reduce blood loss and may contain a local anesthetic to reduce pain. Following the injection of this "tumescent" fluid, fat removal begins. A vacuum is employed to remove the excess fat. At the end of the procedure, the patient is placed in a compression garment to reduce postoperative swelling. In most cases, the patient is discharged home the same day and returns to work in a few days. When more significant fat removal is performed (greater than 10 pounds), patients are usually observed overnight.

It sounds so simple, so how could anything go wrong? Each factor in liposuction can be critical to a safe outcome. If the patient is not healthy, even liposuction can result in significant problems such as a heart attack or trouble breathing. If the surgeon is overly aggressive in fat removal, excessive blood loss can occur. If the anesthesia is not administered properly, too much fluid can be given with serious consequences. If the surgical facility is poorly maintained, infections can be more frequent and lifesaving equipment might not be available in an emergency.

Safety Factors

There are a few general factors which influence the safety of liposuction.

Patient: Liposuction is for healthy patients who are near their ideal body weight. Liposuction is not intended to be a strategy for weight loss. Obese patient should be considered only rarely. Patients with significant heart or lung disease are not candidates.

Doctors: Ideally, liposuction should be done by surgeons familiar with all facets of liposuction, including the tumescent technique. Board certification, preferably by the American Board of Plastic Surgery is mandatory. This ensures that a national organization feels this surgeon is competent and safe. Equally as important, the surgeon should have privileges to perform the procedure in a local hospital. Such privileges mean the surgeon has demonstrated that he is capable of performing the procedure safely.

Anesthesiologist: Whether general anesthesia is being used or not, all patients undergoing liposuction should be monitored by someone other than their surgeon. This is preferably done by a Board Certified anesthesiologist. Experience is essential.

Facility: Liposuction should always be performed in a hospital or accredited surgery center. This certifies that the facility is of the highest quality. Patients can undergo liposuction under local anesthesia without proper monitoring and do well. Just because the surgery was successful, it does not mean it was performed safely. Since liposuction is a real operation with real risks, the conditions for the procedure should be the same as those for any other surgical procedure. Accepting anything less is simply making liposuction more risky than it needs to be.

Liposuction is like any operation in cosmetic surgery in that it can have unsatisfactory results. Specifically, too much or too little fat can be removed, contour irregularities can develop, and swelling can be prolonged. However, when adequate precautions as outlined above are taken, life threatening complications should be exceptionally rare. When done properly by an experienced surgeon in an accredited facility, liposuction remains an extremely safe and effective way to improve one's shape by fat removal.

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