Abstract
Harnett and colleagues'
1
report of splenic perforation from liposuction trauma and subsequent discussion of other reported complications from the procedure completely fails to adequately highlight the significantly increased risk associated with undertaking liposuction under general anaesthesia. (JRSM 2008;
The safety of ‘wet’ tumescent local anaesthesia for liposuction has been repeatedly demonstrated over two decades, 2 whereas significant complications and fatalities are repeatedly reported in patients who have liposuction under general anaesthesia. With liposuction, ‘general anaesthesia and IV sedation carry an additional and very significant risk – a concept long denied in the anaesthesia literature but now becoming clearly acknowledged’. 3 Surgeons have perforated virtually every intra-abdominal organ, along with the diaphragm and lung.
Dermatologists have been active in liposuction surgery since 1977, 4 , 5 and have pioneered dilute local anaesthetic techniques which have revolutionized the safety of the procedure. 6 Performed ‘our way’ and within our specialty's established limits, there have been no deaths anywhere in the world to date. By contrast, procedures performed by surgeons with general anaesthesia (along with IV sedation) have been repeatedly documented to cause fatalities and emergency hospitalizations, as documented in a 7-year Florida study. 7
It is vital that patients (and physicians) contemplating liposuction under general anaesthesia be made aware of these increased risks.
Footnotes