Going in or out for lipo?
Are you going in - or out -
for "lipo?" This is Dr. Steven Andrew Davis, Speaking of
Health. What's celebrating 22 years in the
"Lipo" is chic and popular to the tune of more than half a million procedures
a year in the
of the liposuction fatalities occurred in an office setting, giving rise to
some concern about office-based liposuction surgery. But wait the American
Society for Dermatologic Surgery did a study of over 500 dermatologists a year
later and found a zero percent death rate in over 65,000 procedures, almost all
of which were performed in the doctor's office. What's the catch - why the
disparity - why no deaths for
office-based dermatologists compared to plastic surgeons?
Most likely not physician skill, but rather the kind of anesthesia used. In the
liposuction operation. While almost none of the dermatologists used
general anesthesia, many plastic surgeons do, and that can raise the
risk. General anesthesia's advantage may be an increased comfort level
for the patient and surgeon, but its disadvantage is a rare, but
palpable risk of death. Despite some pressure to put such cosmetic procedures
in a hospital setting, almost three-quarters of malpractice claims related to
lipo procedures were performed in a hospital setting.
The safety of
Ref: Yu, TC and Perez, MI. in cosmetic Dermatology. Vol 17. April, 2004.
Pgs. 209-212.