Why can some liposuction complications be fatal?

Surgeon – expert of Center for Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Viet Duc Friendship Hospital (Hanoi) shared about some risk factors that can cause death when performing this service.

All medical examinations, investigations or interventions on the human body, even when performed under safe and rigorous technical conditions, are subject to the possibility of complications. Liposuction surgery Usually performed under general anaesthesia, in rare cases of localized excess fat, surgery can be performed under regional anaesthesia.

Liposuction surgery requires a doctor with deep expertise in aesthetics shutterstock

Anesthesia also has potential complications of cardiovascular, respiratory, anaphylaxis, neurological … making the patient at risk of death quickly if not handled promptly. Therefore, when performing such surgery, patients need to be anesthetized according to regulations in large hospitals, by highly qualified and experienced plastic surgeons. The patient will be carefully examined by the anesthesiologist before surgery health general before anaesthesia, especially blood testsimmunology, chest X-ray.

Cosmetic liposuction surgery can lead to complications during and after surgery such as: allergy to anesthetics, anesthesia; bleeding, hematoma, fluid accumulation, subcutaneous chylous effusion, skin necrosis, surgical site infection… In which, serious complications that threaten the patient’s immediate life are fat embolism: pulmonary embolism. , cerebral occlusion.

Notably, when performing liposuction surgery, the surgeon uses a cannula (a type of blunt needle) through small skin incisions into the subcutaneous fat to melt the fat and suck it out through the suction system. . Liposuction can break blood vessels, and the movement of free fat cells into the blood can cause embolism of vital organs, heart, lungs, brain… heart and death.

If this complication occurs in the extremities, the patient may present with pain at the tip of the limb after surgery. In addition, rough liposuction can puncture or affect internal organs in the abdomen or cause external bleeding, internal bleeding, and death.

It should be noted that liposuction and liposuction surgery requires absolute sterility; otherwise it is very easy to spread infection causing skin fasciitis, necrosis. Moreover, liposuction requires a doctor with deep expertise in aesthetic medicine to avoid complications such as: inadequate liposuction, asymmetry, or too much liposuction, leaving concave areas, uneven surfaces. , loose skin, “orange”, the skin does not shrink uniformly after surgery causing folds, sometimes requiring surgery to correct it will cause the patient to have more scars.

Abdominal liposuction surgery is maximum or minimal depending on the condition and elasticity of the skin in the abdomen. If liposuction exceeds the ability of the skin to shrink, the abdominal skin will be concave and lose its natural smoothness. Therefore, when conducting liposuction surgery, the surgeon will calculate in detail to liposuction suitable for each person. In theory, liposuction should not be done at one time, but many times to achieve the best aesthetic results.

In addition, it is also possible to combine liposuction of the excess and injection of the deficiency in the same surgery, but only in the case of ensuring equipment and human conditions. At Viet Duc Friendship Hospital, when performing liposuction surgery and autologous fat grafting, plastic surgeons conduct centrifugation to remove healthy fat cells; Then, depending on the needs of cosmetic shaping, these fat cells are injected into the body according to a strict process to minimize complications and to achieve a high survival rate.