Seroma. After liposuction, there may be a pooling of
serum – a liquid from your blood - where fat cells have been
removed. This may require a doctor’s visit to have him remove
the fluid with a large needle – fun, fun.
Embolism may occur when fat is loosened and enters the
blood through blood vessels break during liposuction. These tiny
pieces of fat get trapped in blood vessels, migrate to the lungs
or travel to the brain. Fat emboli may cause permanent
disability or death.
Visceral Perforations or puncture wounds to major organs
can also occur during liposuction. When this happens, additional
surgery may be needed. Visceral perforations can also kill
you.
Nerve Compression or changes to sense of touch. You may
experience “paresthesias” which is an altered sensation where
you had the liposuction. It can manifest as pain or numbness
that can be transient or, in some cases, permanent.
Infections can occur after any surgery. Some physicians
prescribe an antibiotic to all patients undergoing liposuction
as a proactive treatment. Sometimes these infections may be life
threatening such as in cases of necrotizing fasciitis - bacteria
that eat away tissue - or with toxic shock syndrome, a serious,
sometimes fatal infection.
Skin Necrosis or skin death. The skin above the
liposuction site may become necrotic or die. Once dead, the skin
changes color and falls off. This can greatly increase the risk
of infection or may even require a skin graft to repair.
Swelling. Swelling or edema may occur. In some cases,
swelling may persist for weeks or months after liposuction.
Burns. During UAL - Ultrasound Assisted Liposuction, the
most common method, the cannula may become very hot causing
internal burns. This can also damage nerve endings leading to
lose of sensation.
Fluid Imbalance. Surgeons can inject large amounts of
fluids during liposuction to make the procedure more smoothly.
This may result in a fluid imbalance which can result in serious
conditions like heart problems, excess fluid in the lungs, or
kidney damage.
Toxicity from Anesthesia. Lidocaine, a drug that numbs
the skin and similar to Novocain used by dentists, is frequently
used as a local anesthetic. Lidocaine toxicity may cause the
heart to stop – guess what that lead to?
Death – although a remote possibility, any surgical
procedure can result in you pushing up daisies – think about
it.
Here’s the best part – after liposuction, you will have fewer
fat cells which will not grow back. However, the ones you have
left – and this is the really cool thing about fat cells – can
expand to fill in the gaps. Yep, there is no known limit to the
size of a fat cell. Also, since there are fewer fat cells and
the calories you eat will be equally distributed among them, you
may get real fat in unexpected areas.
If you really want to be healthy and happy, you need exercise
and a healthy diet – if you feel good about yourself, it will
show. No matter what you do, with the technology that exists
today, changing the way you look with surgery will not change
the way you feel inside.
Accept who you are and take good care of your most valuable
possession – you’re body. Then you won’t need to shell out all
kinds of money to get unpredictable results or gamble with your
life. Burn fat naturally and safely. Think of the money you’ll
save and don’t feel bad for the poor, plastic surgeons that will
have to do without your business.
