Creating Beauty From Within
Liposuction Side Effects
Liposuction At Any Price?
Know Your Liposuction Facts
It is every woman’s wish to have a lean yet shapely figure, and in the quest to lose extra body fat, dangers associated with liposuction are often overlooked. Liposuction side effects too, are often not thought about when considering this surgery route.
The desire for gaining slimmer thighs and a flatter stomach without having to exercise or diet, is always an appealing prospect. Cellulite, or fatty deposits are localized accumulations of fat and they can be resistant to dieting and exercise due to the fact that they are often genetically determined, but can be removed permanently by liposuction surgery.
Liposuction is a technique to remove excess fat from certain areas of the body to create improved contours and shape. Tiny incisions are created in the skin, through which a blunt tube is inserted, and this in turn is connected to a suction pump. The tube is then vigorously moved from side to side to release and vacuum out the excess body fat.
Liposuction is effective at removing fat cells, creating the potential for less fat to build up in the treated area in future.
Liposuction Side Effects, Risks and Dangers
It is essential to be mindful that this is a surgical, medical procedure and as such, can offer the possibility of unwanted liposuction side effects, risks and complications, ranging from minor swelling of the treated area to potentially life-threatening such as infections. So, before going ahead with any cosmetic surgery, liposuction included, it is of the utmost importance to choose a highly experienced and board-certified cosmetic surgeon.
Some potential side effects of liposuction are temporary numbness, swelling, bruising, and general discomfort in the treated area.
Serious complications such as allergic reactions, infections or blood clots are possible if the procedure is not correctly performed.
Liposuction dangers can increase in proportion to the size of the area to be treated and the amount of fat to be removed. If the area to be treated is relatively large or includes multiple areas, the potential dangers can be substantial as there is always the possibility that vital organs can be injured or punctured.
The biggest and most frequently occurring dangers of liposuction surgery, are often related to the risks involved with sedation and general anaesthetic, with the loss of blood and fluid replacement and risks involved with excessive liposuction treatment. If the tumescent technique is followed, then these particular dangers associated with liposuction can be reduced for eradicated.
Any dangers associated with sedation (ie drugs used for general anaesthesia carry more risks than those used for local anaesthsia), such as allergic reactions or respiratory arrest, are eliminated when they are not used.
The recovery process too is not free of its potential dangers, the patient can react adversely to certain drugs, or possibly get an infection.
Risks Associated with Large Volume Liposuction
Liposuction risks increase with large volume liposuction. The risk of complications or liposuction side effects involved with any liposuction procedure are increased when large amounts of fat are to be removed, with the use of a general anaesthetic, and when more than one procedure is performed at the same time.
The larger the area to be treated and the bigger the amount of fat to be removed, the more dangerous the procedure can potentially be. There is a limit to no more than ten pounds of fat being removed at any one liposuction session.
How to Reduce the Dangers of Liposuction
- Be An Ideal Candidate
One answer to reducing these liposuction dangers is to be an ideal candidate for the procedure.
An ideal candidate would be relatively close to their acceptable body weight for their height and health, someone who maintains a well balanced and healthy diet, who exercises on a regular basis and who has reasonably good elasticity of the skin.
Liposuction procedures should not be performed on patients with chronic medical conditions such as kidney disease or heart disease.
- Tumescent Liposuction Technique
It is much safer to use a local anaesthetic than a general one and tumescent liposuction, which can be performed with just a local anaesthetic and therefore reducing the risks involved when using a general anaesthetic, creates relatively less pain. General painkillers can be given for pain relief throughout the recovery and healing process after the use of this liposuction method.
This technique was first launched in 1985, and uses micro cannulas which can provide smoother and more precise results. Cosmetic surgeons can achieve fantastic results when using the tumescent liposuction technique, especially on the face and also when sculpting relatively small areas on the body.
This technique is believed to provide unequalled levels of precision and safety, thus dramatically reducing the risks involved and dangers of liposuction.
The tumescent technique involves large amounts of fluid, containing a local anaesthetic called lidocaine. It also contains epinephrine, which assists with the reduction of bleeding, and which is slowly pumped into the fatty layer through tiny incisions in the skin, causing it the area to swell. The epinephrine in the anaesthetic solution constricts the blood vessels, limiting any bleeding both during and following surgery. Because the average loss of blood is approximately 1 tablespoon full or less, there is no need for the patient to have a blood transfusion.
And because the fatty layer swells up, it is then much easier to remove the excess unwanted fat, and bleeding is greatly reduced resulting in a numbness that can last for up to 24 hours.
It is this numbness that then allows for the liposuction procedure to be performed without the use of a general anaesthetic but with just a light oral sedation instead, thus dramatically reducing any post-op pain and suffering.
Again this technique drastically reduces the risks involved with the loss of blood when compared to the more conventional suction-assisted liposuction procedure.
Other Dangers of Liposuction and Liposuction Side Effects:
Post-operative liposuction scars are most definitely permanent, however it is normal practice that only two small incisions are made (of no more than 10mm in length) for each area to be treated, through which the cannula is to be inserted. The surgeon will try to hide the incisions in natural creases in the skin, in pubic hair, or within the belly button. On a positive note, these scars will fade in time.
1. Contour Irregularities
Some common and unfortunate results of liposuction procedure surgery are asymmetry and irregular contours of the treated area, and this may warrant further operations.
2. Excess Skin
This can be an unwanted result after a liposuction procedure, by patients whose skin has poor elasticity. Stretch marks can sometimes be a sign of poor skin elasticity and this is perhaps an indication to a candidate that maybe their skin is not suitable for this procedure. And whilst this is generally not a danger nor a complication for younger patients, those prone to stretch marks may indeed end up with an excess of loose skin and thus they may require further surgery to remove it.
It is possible to remove excess skin at the same time as the liposuction procedure is performed.
3. Swelling after Liposuction
Oedema or swelling, may continue for some weeks or even months after surgery. Swelling can result in a tingling feeling or numbness being caused by pressure on nerves within the body. Because of this, it is important to wear a compression body garment to help reduce any swelling, and to speed the recovery process.
Sometimes pockets of fluid, also known as seroma, can gather in spaces within the treated areas and these will need draining. The likelihood of swelling and seromas forming are reduced when a compression garment is worn.
If the knee or inner part of the upper thigh are treated, bumpy and raised veins (known as thrombophlebitis) can appear after surgery, but they should settle down within a few weeks.
The ankles can swell too.
4. Bruising after Liposuction
Bruising can sometimes be considerable, is generally painful and can often take more than 4 weeks to disappear.
5. Burns from Ultrasonic Liposuction
Ultrasound-assisted liposuction uses a probe which heats to an intensity that can cause burns, however the risk of burns is reduced if the probe is not used too close to the surface of the skin and if it is not kept in one place for too long a period of time.
6. Infection after Liposuction
Infections can occur after liposuction procedures are performed. Antibiotics are often prescribed post-operatively as a preventative measure against infection occurring.
Indications of an infection would be increasing tenderness, inflammation of the area treated, red blotches or streaks on the surface of the skin, a high temperature and vomiting.
7. Pulmonary Embolism
It is possible that fat can break free during the procedure, getting into the blood vessels and make their way to the lungs. This can cause a blockage, known as a pulmonary embolism and can cause difficulty with breathing or even fatality. This risk is at its highest within the first three days after liposuction.
8. Organ Damage
There is the possibility that internal organs such as the intestines can be damaged as a result of the cannula puncturing them because the surgeon is actually operating beneath the skin through a tiny incision, and he is unable to see where the cannula is probing as he performs the procedure.
If any organs are damaged during the procedure, it is possible that they would need to be repaired with further surgry. If the patient has a hernia (intestines protruding or pushing through the abdominal wall) the possibility of damage is greatly magnified.
9. Overdose of Lidocaine
It is possible that an accumulation of lidocaine can result if too much is injected into the area during liposuction. Indications of this are drowsiness, slurred speech, muscle twitching, convulsions, shivering, light-headedness, numbness of the tongue and lips and eventually even cardiac arrest.
Fortunately nowadays, instances of lidocaine toxicity are quite uncommon due to more and more patients opting for tumescent liposuction where small concentrations of lidocaine are used, thus reducing these risks.
10. Fluid Imbalance
Large quantities of fluids are injected into the area to be treated during tumescent liposuction. Some of this fluid is then removed in the fat tissue at the same time that the fat tissue is suctioned out, potentially resulting in an imbalance of fluids. If this is not noticed and is left untreated, it can lead to serious problems, for example heart or kidney failure or dysfunction, or fluid in the lungs.
A build up of fluid in the lungs, known as pulmonary oedema, can occur as a result of the fluid injected into the body during the liposuction procedure.
11. Possibility of a Liposuction Death
The risk of liposuction death cannot be ruled out. The chances of death during this procedure can increase when other surgical procedures are carried out at the same time.
Liposuction Safety
Liposuction risks and even liposuction side effects can be dramatically reduced and minimized when the patient is healthy and the procedure is performed by an experienced and properly trained cosmetic surgeon.
Best results are achieved by the tumescent procedure, generally in an outpatient environment.
It is a little difficult to be more precise with regard to providing statistics in relation to potential liposuction risks or the side effects of liposuction, as risks or complications are specific to each individual and can be a different combination for everyone.
Your surgeon will explain in detail, how the risks and dangers could apply to you.
Read more on:
What is Liposuction? – Liposuction Procedures
Inner Knee and Inner Thigh Liposuction
Liposuction Recovery Information
Ultrasonic Assisted Liposuction
Related posts:
Liposuction Prices - What You Can Expect to Pay
Superficial Liposuction
History of Liposuction and Liposuction Surgery Procedures
Cosmetic Surgery Tummy Tuck – Before and After Stories
Liposuction Alternatives - Can They Really Work
Liposuction Legs - Inner Thighs and Inner Knee Liposuction
How Effective is Upper Arm Liposuction?
History of Cosmetic Surgery
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