Along with the typical risks that come with any surgical procedure, liposuction is a relatively low risk plastic surgery solution for many. Laser liposuction further decreases risks as since it is a more precision enhanced method of the procedure. Typical complications such as surgical and anesthesia risks, as well as some common liposuction side effects are greatly reduced or eliminated altogether. Potential undesired effects such as skin irregularities and other poor results are greatly minimized because laser liposuction removes fat at a slower pace. The procedure might take longer because it is a slower method but the recovery is usually quicker due to the smaller equipment and incisions required to perform the surgery.
Liposuction Risks
The risks of liposuction can be categorized into two groups. They are either surgical related or anesthesia related. Surgical risks include any potential problems that could occur during the surgery or as a result of the surgery. Traditional liposuction procedures are particularly known for causing a lot of bleeding and so much so that in some cases blood transfusions are in order. Excessive bleeding and bruising are not as bad as the risk of internal organ damage caused by the mechanical force used to break up fat cells. There is also the risk of infection to the incision area after the surgery.
Anesthesia related risks are usually the result of improper administration. The wrong dosage can be dangers if overdosed and scary if under dosed and the patient awakes in the middle of the process. There are also some risks of allergic reactions to particular solutions in the drug. Patients are advised to avoid any epinephrine-like drugs such as cold medications because the solution in anesthesia would cause the heart rate to elevate. An excess of this could lead to cardiac arrhythmia.
Laser Liposuction Risks
Since laser assisted liposuction eliminates the need for excessive force to break up fat cells and provides a more accurate way of targeting fat cells, the neighboring tissue in the area being treated is less prone to trauma and stress. The chance of internal organ damage is near zero except for the extremely rare event that the surgeon doesn’t know what they are doing. Bleeding is minimal with laser liposuction because damage to blood vessels is minimal and in the event that there is a bleed, the heat from the laser will cause small leaks to evaporate. The smaller incision also means less risk of an infection after the surgery.
Traditional liposuction is used to treat larger areas and for that reason requires general anesthesia meaning the patient is completely sedated during the surgery. The larger dosage increases the risk. Laser lipo patients only require local anesthesia which means a smaller dosage, just enough to numb the area, and the patient is awake during the procedure. In this way, if something feels uncomfortable or abnormal there is an open line of communication between patient and surgeon throughout the procedure. The lower dosage also means that if the patient happens to have an allergic reaction to the drug, it will be a much smaller reaction.
Liposuction Side Effects
The most common side effects of liposuction include skin irregularities, hematomas and seromas. Skin irregularities is a permanent problem and although unsightly, is not particularly dangerous. It occurs when too much fat is removed from one area causing lumps and grooves to appear in the skin. There is also a risk of necrosis from some liposuction techniques that treat fat too close to the skin. Necrosis is dead skin cells caused by damage to the blood vessels and other connective tissue that supply the skin cells. Hematomas and seromas are conditions that cause visible coloration of the skin due to the pooling of blood leaked from damaged blood vessels. Proper drainage of the incision area can prevent of minimize the chances of hematomas or seromas. These are temporary conditions that go away with time depending on the severity.
Laser Lipo Side Effects
Laser liposuction minimizes most of the side effects such as hematomas and seromas because there is much less bleeding caused to the area. There is a risk, however, of burning the skin with the laser if it is left in one area for too long. This is a very rare case where the surgeon doesn’t move the laser away soon enough. The chance of skin irregularities is almost zero since laser liposuction is a slow process of removing smaller amounts of fat at a time. In fact, some large procedures will use traditional methods to remove large amounts of fat but stop just shy of finishing the procedure so that the surgeon can change techniques and use laser liposuction to remove the remainder of the fat. This way, the laser is used to define and finalize the sculpting of the area being treated.