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Risks
By Mayo Clinic staffAs with any major surgery, liposuction carries risks, such as bleeding, infection and an unwanted reaction to the anesthesia. And like all surgeries, complications vary depending on how large the procedure. If the surgeon is working on larger surfaces of your body or doing other procedures during the same operation, the risk of complications increases. Talk to your doctor about how these risks apply to you.
Possible complications specific to liposuction include:
- Contour irregularities. Your skin may appear bumpy, wavy or withered due to uneven fat removal, poor skin elasticity and unusual healing. This condition can be permanent. Cannula-induced damage beneath the skin may cause a permanent spotted appearance to your skin. A cannula is a thin tube that is used during the liposuction procedure. Temporary pockets of fluid (seromas) can form under your skin, particularly after ultrasound-assisted liposuction (UAL) treatment. These may need to be drained with a needle.
- Numbness. You may feel temporary or permanent numbness in the area of the surgery. Temporary nerve irritation also is possible.
- Infections. Severe skin infections are rare but — if they occur — may require surgical treatment with the potential for significant scarring.
- Internal punctures. Punctures in internal organs occur very rarely, when a cannula penetrates too deeply into the body. These punctures can require additional surgery to repair, and can be fatal.
- Death. Fatalities may be caused by anesthesia or by shifts in the body's fluid levels as fluids are being injected and sucked out. The fluid shifts can cause kidney and heart problems. Death is very unlikely.
