What Are Some Of The Risks Of Liposuction?
Liposuction is an increasingly popular procedure
. It works using special hollow tubes called cannulas to break down and suction excess fat from pre-specified target areas. Often, it works very well, and it gives patients wonderful results that they are very pleased with.
However, sometimes things go wrong. Liposuction doctors are human, and they make mistakes sometimes. Sometimes they are insufficiently trained. Sometimes they're not sufficiently skilled. Sometimes they are overbooked and in a hurry. Sometimes they're tired and not fully concentrating. And sometimes, things happen for no apparent reason other than the fact everybody makes mistakes.
There are occasional big mistakes, like the recently publicized case where a liposuction doctor operating on the prior First Lady of Nigeria punctured several major organs, which ultimately resulted in her death. However, cases like this are extremely rare. Smaller mistakes are much more common.
Sometimes a surgeon--whether through fatigue, distraction or other reasons--will lose the attention to detail that cosmetic surgery requires. This can lead to skin irregularities, blemishes and uneven patches. This sort of thing is more common when doctors use larger cannulas, and is minimized when doctors use the microcannulas that represent current liposuction technology.
Sometimes a doctor will remove too much fat, whether through a judgment mistake on his or her own part, or at the instigation of the patient. This results in an unusual and unappealing appearance. It can cause lipotrops, which are depressions in the skin, and liponots, which are bumps where the skin and fat bulge outward.
Some doctors use the cannula to scrape the underside of the skin in an attempt to cause it to contract as it heals. Although some doctors believe that this will help, there doesn't seem to be much research to suggest that this will actually aid in skin tightness. Rather, it can lead to scarring, the formation of lumps and discoloration and to the destruction of certain blood and lymphatic vessels. In extreme cases, this can contribute to skin necrosis, or death of the skin, at the target site.
Very occasionally, a doctor has even been known to perform liposuction on the wrong place due to a miscommunication with the patient. Because of this, it is important that patients and doctors establish in writing which areas are to be treated. Also, patients who undergo liposuction using the recommended local anesthesia are better able to avoid this problem, because they are awake during surgery.
While the chance for complications like these cannot be entirely eliminated, care during the selection of a surgeon. If you pick a surgeon who is well-trained, experienced, and who has a good track record, you'll reduce your chances of complications drastically.
When you visit your surgeon for a consultation, this will be a good time to ask about how often they experience complications or dissatisfied patients. You can ask to see before and after pictures. You may be able to tell if the office seems chaotic, or if the surgeon seems overworked and distracted. Once again, exercising caution during the selection period will help you a lot when surgery time actually comes.
by: Christian Heftel
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