Liposuction Let Down- Who Makes A Bad Candidate For It?
January 9th, 2009

Cosmetics and Surgery Beauty Minerals

"Do NOT have any cosmetic surgery without first reading this"

Contrary to popular belief, liposuction is not an effective method of weight loss but instead allows for the removal of superficial fat that cannot be done away with by either exercising on a regular basis or dieting. Liposuction (also called lipoplasty) can be done on a number of areas of the body including the abdomen, hips, thighs, arms, buttocks and even the face and neck area. Both women and men choose to have liposuction although they don't necessarily have it done on the same parts of the body. For women it is most often performed on the arms, abdomen, hips, thighs, and under the chin. Men most often request it on their flanks (fondly referred to as love handles) and their abdomen.

Not everyone however is a good candidate for liposuction surgery. First of all if you are not a reasonably healthy human being you may be at a much higher risk for complications resulting from the surgery. If you're past medical history is grave and consists of cardiac arrhythmias, excessive bleeding, disorders involving seizures, a tendency towards deep vein thrombosis (otherwise known as blood clot formation in the legs), pulmonary emboli (or blood clots in the lungs) and immunodeficiency disorders.

Specific drugs such as aspirins, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (abbreviated to NSAIDs), or Coumadin (also called warfarin which is a drug used for thinning the blood) increase the chance of bleeding during surgery so anyone currently taking any one of these drugs would be a very bad candidate for liposuction. Drugs that inhibit the metabolism of lidocaine can interfere with the local anesthetic used in the liposuction surgery and this interaction of drugs can cause any number of health concerns in the patient. The only way the individual could contemplate liposuction is to cease taking any of these medications for a period of at least two weeks before the surgery.

Those are not the only health considerations that would render a person a bad candidate for liposuction. Anyone who has edema, heart disease, hypertension, past heart problems, diabetes or an infection of any kind should avoid the liposuction procedure.

Not all individuals' skin is very elastic and has the ability to sufficiently "bounce back" after surgery. This is definitely a deciding factor in the decision of whether to have liposuction or not. The plastic surgeon will be able to determine by examining the area of your skin where you wish to have the procedure whether or not it has enough elasticity in it to shrink well after liposuction. Lack of elasticity equals baggy skin afterwards, which would not make for a very happy or satisfied patient in the end.

Generally age is not a serious consideration with liposuction but patients who are 40 years and over, do not have the tightness or elasticity of younger patients and loose skin might likely be the end result. Patients who have stretch marks (from multiple pregnancies or excessive weight loss) and/or a fair amount of cellulite also do not make good candidates.

Liposuction is geared towards shaping and resculpting the body (or at least select parts of it) and as previously mentioned, is not in any way meant for losing weight or to take the place of healthy eating and exercise habits. With that reason in mind it is best undertaken by those of a normal weight or those slightly overweight (as in 50 pounds above the person's ideal body weight). Liposuction is to get rid of localized fat but unlike a tummy tuck, no skin is removed during the procedure. Those who adhere to bad eating habits do not engage in regular exercise and those with unrealistic expectations of liposuction would not be good candidates at all for this kind of surgery.

If liposuction is done on a person who is deemed a bad candidate it can lead to serious and /or life threatening complications for the person. Some of these health risks include blood clots, damage to internal organs, heart failure, severe loss of blood, brain or nerve damage, hypothermia, infection or a seizure.

Plastic surgeons will not perform liposuction on patients any younger than 18 years of age and are required to take an extensive medical history from each potential patient before the decision to go ahead with the surgery is made. They do this to avoid putting the patient's health at risk. That is why being healthy for this procedure is so important

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