Liposuction - Medical Malpractice Lawyers

Our cosmetic surgery medical malpractice lawyers deal with claims for financial compensation arising out of negligent behaviour before during or after liposuction surgery If you believe that your treatment, including disclosure of risk, surgical procedure or subsequent aftercare was less than adequate and amounted to negligent action on the part of a healthcare professional, please use the contact form or email our offices and a specialist medical malpractice lawyer will call you on the telephone, at your convenience, to discuss your potential damages claim for negligent liposuction surgery. Our liposuction medical malpractice lawyers specialise in cases involving negligent cosmetic surgery and they offer a free consultation with no further obligation. You will receive detailed legal advice over the telephone and they will give their views on liability and the estimated value of your potential liposuction negligence claim there and then.

Liposuction is a cosmetic surgery procedure that can remove fat and fat cells from various parts of the body so that you look and feel thinner with a loss of weight equal to the amount of fat that is lost during the procedure. Some people have fat cells that are stubborn and don’t shrink. It takes the loss of the actual cells in the liposuction procedure in order to actually have loss of weight and fat.

Liposuction can remove small areas of fat, such as just beneath the chin, or large areas of fat, such as in the abdomen or buttocks. It can be removed from the face, the hips, the abdomen, the thighs, the arms and the buttocks. Because cellulite is mainly fat cells trapped in pockets of connective tissue, it cannot be gotten rid of by means of liposuction. In fact, it is very difficult to get rid of cellulite.

Obesity Resolution?

Good candidates for liposuction are those who have realistic expectations about what to expect from the procedure. You need to be of an average weight or of a slightly higher than average weight. It is not a good procedure for obesity resolution. You need firm and highly elastic skin that can shrink to fit the new size of body. You need to be in overall good health. You need to have concentrated areas of fat that don’t respond to a trial of exercise and a healthy diet.

Cellulite

Those with cellulite or poor skin quality are not great candidates for liposuction because the skin can be lumpier than before the procedure. Age isn’t really a factor but older skin tends to be less elastic than younger skin so there may be a problem with elasticity. Young patients have an easier time of it and have a better outcome.

Pre-Op

You will have your liposuction done by a cosmetic or “plastic” surgeon. You’ll need to be examined by the surgeon and have a complete history and physical before the procedure. Tell your surgeon about any medications or herbs you are taking so that you can determine whether or not some have to be discontinued before surgery. Medications like nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medications need to be discontinued (including aspirin) so that you don’t bleed unnecessarily during surgery. You should not drink alcohol before surgery and you should stop smoking before surgery. Let your doctor know if you are taking vitamins because certain vitamins need to be stopped before liposuction.

Anaesthetic

Liposuction is done under general anesthesia in most cases but can be done under local if a small area of the body is to be done. If a lot of fat is removed, then an overnight stay in the hospital might need to be done. A suctioning device is used at the end of a cannula that is inserted into a small incision. The cannula vacuums up the fat while the doctor moves it around the affected area to make sure the liposuction is even and not lumpy. The doctor tries not to do the liposuction too close to the skin because it can lead to lumpy skin afterward that doesn’t go away. The procedure can take as little as twenty minutes or as long as a couple of hours if a lot of fat needs to be removed.

Tumescent & Ultrasound Procedures

In tumescent liposuction, a saline solution is mixed with a painkiller and epinephrine. The blood vessels contract so there is less bleeding and the fat is removed more easily from the affected area. In ultrasound assisted liposuction, ultrasound energy is used to make the fat liquefied so that it is very easily removed from the body.

Recovery

You tend to recover within a few days and can return to work. Complications include bleeding, bruising, hematoma formation, infection and a poor result. Most of these things can be easily treated with antibiotics or local heat but a poor result can be difficult to manage. The doctor can do too much liposuction or liposuction too close to the skin so it is obvious that liposuction was performed. The tracts of the cannula can remain visible just beneath the skin.

Liposuction Medical Malpractice Lawyers

If you are unhappy with the outcome of any cosmetic surgery you should initially discuss your reservations with the surgeon who carried out the work to see if he has any proposals to rectify the problem. The surgeon may be willing to make a refund or may provide further corrective surgery. If you are unable to resolve the matter directly with the surgeon you should take advice from a medical malpractice lawyer with a view to claiming compensation. Our liposuction medical malpractice lawyers offer advice at no cost on liability and an estimate of the amount of compensation that you are likely to be awarded, with no charge and without obligation.

Liposuction Overview

Liposuction is a cosmetic procedure in which small incisions are made over skin that contains excess fat and a cannula (a rigid tube with holes in it) is inserted. The excess fat is sucked out of the body using a strong suction device that removes the fat. The cannula creates tissue planes and the fat is smoothly removed from each plane. This way you cannot see divots or raised areas where the fat isn't taken out properly. This is one complication of liposuction and it is up to the skill of the doctor to make sure this doesn't happen. The incisions are closed after the procedure and the individual recovers from the bruising and swelling that are common complications.

Liposuction is not without its risks. There are anesthesia complications, surgical complications and post surgical complications. It is important to talk to your doctor about the various possible complications you might face. Some complications are unique to liposuction while others are true of just about any surgery.

Fortunately, complications of liposuction are not that common but they do happen, even with the best of surgeons. It is important to make sure your surgeon is Board Certified in plastic surgery and that they have done many liposuction procedures in the past. Complications true of any surgery include having a bad reaction to the anesthesia, complications from Staph or Strep infections, blood clotting or not clotting and scarring at the surgical site. The skin can be numbed permanently after the surgery and there can be significant bruising. Pigment changes can occur at the site of the incision.

Major complications of liposuction surgery include healing that doesn't happen on time, sepsis or life threatening complications, allergies to medication or anesthesia, fatty clots that travel to the lungs or the brain, leading to stroke or pulmonary embolus. Blood clot can travel to the above areas as well. You can get excess blood or fluid loss that can cause shock or even death, there can be nerve damage or skin damage. There can be burns secondary to friction to the tissue and the doctor can push the cannula in too far and can damage vital organs underneath.

Excess liposuction can be a problem and can cause complications. If too much fat is formed in one day, the skin can sag and there can be tracts in the skin or dents that happen when the cannula gets too close to the surface of the skin. There can be unsightly lumps beneath the skin that are definitely not attractive. If the procedure takes too long, the anesthesia can complicate things and the person may be slow to wake up after the procedure. It is far better to have multiple procedures done one week apart or even further apart.

There are a great many minor complications of liposuction that aren't life threatening. You can get a hematoma or a blood clot formed beneath the skin, bruising of the skin, a lumpy appearance to the skin, bad scarring, skin that sags, necrotic skin in the affected areas where the incisions occur, and fainting spells. You can damage nerves, causing permanent numbness and mild drug reactions.

Very severe reactions are possible in liposuction, including cardiac rhythm problems, cardiac arrest, anaphylaxis, pulmonary embolism, deep vein thrombosis of the legs, permanent nerve damage, brain damage from an anesthesia complication, total body shock from excessive fluid and blood loss and damage to vital organs.

Complications of liposuction can be done by doing liposuction in very small quantities and doing several procedures spaced weeks apart. See a surgeon who is able to discuss the risks and benefits of doing liposuction surgery. Tell your medical history to the surgeon so there will be no big surprises or untoward complications. Follow the instructions of the procedure the surgeon gives you because it can make the difference between a successful surgical outcome and a bad surgical outcome.

The author of the substantive medical writing on this website is Dr. Christine Traxler MD whose biography can be read here