What are the Risks & Complications of Liposuction?
Liposuction when done correctly by an experienced surgeon is a safe and effective procedure that can produce outstanding and life changing results. As with any surgical procedure, there are also risks associated with the procedure as well as benefits.
To better understand that risks and complications involved it is best to break these down into medical complications and surgical risks.
Medical Complications from the procedure are
- Pain and aching
- Bruising
- Bleeding or a Haematoma (a collection of blood under the skin)
- Infection very uncommon due to a sterile field being maintained during the procedure and antibiotics given after the procedure
- Persistent Swelling
- A Seroma or Fluid accumulation under the skin
- Deep Vein Thrombosis (this is a complication from any surgery where movement post-surgery is reduced. It is extremely rare)
Surgical Risks from the Procedure are
- Skin Irregularities. This occurs from poor liposuction technique by either over or under liposuctioning or by liposuctioning at the wrong skin depth.
- Missed Areas – Occurs when the area surrounding a large area is missed
- Skin Laxity – If a surgeon over liposuctions a particular the skin in this area may not be able to retract enough. If the skin is extremely loose to start with the risk of this increases. If the risk of this happening is very high, we may recommend doing the procedure over two sessions. This will give the skin a far greater ability to retract correctly.
These risks can usually be managaed via a small touch up procedure to correct any cosmetic problems. Fat transfer can be used to treat over liposuctioning and additional liposuction can be used to treat under liposuctioning.
When choosing liposuction, it is always recommended to choose a skilled experienced surgeon with the proper qualifications. This ensures that most complications can be reduced or avoided.
Who are the most suitable candidates for Liposuction Surgery?
A suitable candidate for liposuction is considered someone who is in both good physical and mental health. They are currently unhappy with the shape of their body and have stubborn pockets of fat that they have been unable to remove. A suitable candidate is also someone who has reasonable expectations of what can be achieved by surgery.
Who is not suitable for Liposuction?
If you are pregnant or breast feeding Liposuction is contraindicated and you will need to wait until after this period.
If you have bleeding or blot clotting disorders, we do not recommend the procedure.
Also, if you have a serious medical condition such as cardiac or lung problems you will be at increased risk from the procedure and should discuss with one of our medical practitioners before considering if the treatment is appropriate or not
If you have significant skin laxity that could be caused by weight loss or ageing, we recommend a discussion with one of our specialist doctors to determine the most appropriate treatment for you. In some case liposuction can cause further laxity for your sin and in some cases, it is recommended to have skin tightening or skin reduction surgery before liposuction. This is only in more extreme cases of skin laxity.
When is the best time to have liposuction?
Often, we get asked at Contour Surgical when is the best time to have liposuction. We tell all our patients the best time is when you are ready mentally and physically to undergo the procedure and recovery phase.
It can be argued that it is best to have Liposuction at a younger age. Skin elasticity, Skin Integrity and your general health is better and therefore your body recovers quicker and your skin recovers better. However, this is not to say older patients should not have liposuction it is just they need to be prepared for a potentially longer recovery phase.
A very common question is whether I should have the procedure before or after having become pregnant. We recommend having the procedure before pregnancy if possible. The reasons for this are your skin elasticity and general health are better as you are younger. Also, by removal fat cells prior to pregnancy you have a lower chance of them expanding and causing excessive stretching of the skin.
Please note that Liposuction is contraindicated in Pregnancy and Breast Feeding.
