subject: Am I Healthy Enough To Get A Liposuction? [print this page] Liposuction (also called lipoplasty and suction lipectomy) is a big business in the United States. Every year, hundreds of thousands of Americans undergo the procedure. The Internet is filled with talk of which star or starlet has recently undergone the surgery, and it seems like everywhere you turn, you find ads for surgical centers offering to magically remove your body fat.
With all of this growth in the industry, and with all the talk about why you should get a lipoplasty, it's easy to forget that the surgery is, well, a surgery. As such, it puts a certain amount of strain on the body. As with other surgeries, there are certain minimum health requirements that a prospective patient needs to be able to meet.
A lipectomy removes fat from specific target areas on a patient's body. The surgery typically takes anywhere from one to several hours, and it is usually performed under local anesthesia. The surgery can remove up to ten pounds of fatty tissue. Naturally, this can come as a bit of a shock to one's system. While most healthy bodies can take this sort of trauma, it is important that a person be sufficiently healthy to be able to withstand this. People who have especially weak immune systems or who have chronic illnesses or other conditions that interfere with their ability to heal may not be eligible for the surgery.
It is possible, although infrequent for serious and even fatal blood clots to form during the surgery. For this reason, people who have a history of blood clots may not be able to undergo the surgery. For relatively obvious reasons, the surgery may not be safe for people who have heart disorders.
Cigarette smoking is not recommended for liposuction patients, as it can lead to an increased chance for lipoplasty-related lung problems. If you smoke, your doctor may require that you quit before your surgery.
Some people who fear that health concerns might make them ineligible for the surgery are tempted to be less than honest and forthright with their doctors. They think that this will increase their chances of being able to undergo the procedures. This is an extremely bad idea. Not only is it dishonest, but it can also dramatically increase your risk or serious injury or death. The requirements for the procedure are not too stringent; a wide variety of people with varying levels of health can undergo the surgery. If your doctor tells you no, there's probably a very good reason.
