How to Pick a Liposuction Surgeon
Choosing a Liposuction Surgeon
Choosing a liposuction surgeon who is well trained, skilled and ethical requires careful attention. A surgeon’s reputation for good liposuction results, happy patients, and ethical standards are most important. Not every cosmetic surgeon is well trained and experienced in doing liposuction. The best facelift surgeon or the best breast surgeon might have limited skills as a liposuction surgeon. Ask others about the surgeon’s reputation. Ask doctors, former patients, and friends who might known about the surgeon’s reputation.
Consider “Safety First”
Most surgeons now recognize that there is a limit on the maximum amount of liposuction that a patient can safely tolerate on a single day, yet there is controversy about what constitutes “an excessive amount of liposuction.” The Medical Board of California prohibits outpatient liposuction of more than 5 liters of aspirate (fat and fluid) in an office on a single day. Many surgeons believe that the maximum safe volume of aspirate is less than 4 liters. Most surgeons who put safety above all other considerations agree that removing more than 4 or 5 liters fat and fluid by liposuction is too dangerous. When choosing a liposuction surgeon it is recommended that you consider the surgeon’s philosophy about safety.
Is the Surgeon Board Certified in a Surgical Specialty?
A surgeon who could never pass his or her board examination might not be your first choice. Similarly, board certification in a non-surgical specialty might not provide evidence of adequate training in using sterile surgical technique nor in managing an acute surgical emergency.
Is the Surgeon Well Trained?
Is the surgeon well trained in preventing and taking care of surgical emergencies? Training in preventing liposuction complications might be more important than experience in taking care of liposuction complications. If you had to choose between two equally qualified liposuction surgeons, would you prefer a surgeon who never had to take care of a liposuction emergency, or would you prefer the surgeon who has had to take care of many liposuction emergencies?
What to Avoid
Avoid exposing your self to the risks associated with excessive volumes of liposuction or excessive number of body areas treated by liposuction on the same day. Avoid having liposuction on the same day that other unrelated surgical procedures, such as facelift or breast surgery are done. It is especially dangerous to have a liposuction at the same time as a gynecological surgical procedure such as hysterectomy, tubal ligation, or bladder suspension. Virtually all deaths associated with liposuction have occurred when there was an excessive amount of liposuction, or when other unrelated surgical procedures were performed on the same day.
The Safest Choice
The safest choice is to select a surgeon who is willing to 1) limit the amount of liposuction performed on a single day to less than 4 liters of aspirate (fat and fluid), 2) avoid doing liposuction of an excessive number of body areas on a single day, 3) schedule the surgical days at least one month apart if more than one day of liposuction is required, 4) avoid doing any unrelated surgical procedures on the same day as liposuction.
Surgical Specialty is not Critical
Qualifications of a liposuction surgeon are not rigidly defined. Liposuction was developed by multiple specialities. No specialty can honestly claim superior training in the world of liposuction. There are many excellent liposuction surgeons who obtained their basic surgical education during residency training in dermatology, general surgery, gynecology, ophthalmology, otolaryngology (ENT), or plastic surgery. For example, both dermatologists and plastic surgeons receive instruction in doing liposuction during their residency training. When selecting a liposuction surgeon, the surgeon’s specialty is not as important as the surgeon’s liposuction technique, the surgeon’s record for safety, and the individual surgeon’s honesty and integrity.
Avoid Marketing Hype
There is no surgical specialty that can honestly claim that its training in liposuction is superior to that of any other surgical specialty. There is absolutely no published data on liposuction safety upon which any specialty can objectively base a claim of superiority. In fact, it is quite likely that the one surgical specialty that claims to be superior to all others, is in fact the specialty that has had the highest rate of severe liposuction complications and surgical deaths. Do not be deceived by an advertising agency’s hyperbole. Do not confuse marketing hyperbole with surgical skill and integrity.
Liposuction Safety Has Improved
Surgeons of all specialties have learned from the mistakes of the past. Modern liposuction is now regarded as much improved. Nevertheless, patients must be aware that different surgeons within the same specialty may use different techniques. In fact, some surgeons have not kept up to date, and continue to use outmoded techniques. It is important for a prospective patient to know which are the safest surgical techniques, and which are outmoded. For example, you should know that most liposuction surgeons have rejected the technique of ultrasonic liposuction, and the FDA does not permit the sale of ultrasonic liposuction machines in the United States.
Arrogant Surgeons Are Dangerous
Every specialty has its unique advantages and limitations in the liposuction training its members have received. It is natural for a specialist to believe that his own specialty is the best. However, a surgeon becomes dangerous when he begins to believe in the infallibility of his own specialty. Arrogant surgeons are more likely to attempt more aggressive and more dangerous liposuction procedures. Consequently their patients are exposed to greater risks and serious surgical complications. Beware of any specialty that advertises itself as having the best training to do liposuction. The patient’s most important concern should be to choose a liposuction surgeon whose primary concern is safety. Avoid overconfident surgeons who believe their training permits them to attempt excessively large liposuction procedures.
Essential Prerequisites
What are the necessary and sufficient prerequisites to becoming a competent liposuction surgeon?. Each of the following criteria are necessary: board certification in a surgical specialty, expertise in managing cardiac emergencies, accredited liposuction training in the classroom (didactic) and hands-on training in the operating room. These attributes are considered in greater detail in the following paragraphs.
Surgical training and board certification in an accredited residency training program, such as dermatology, general surgery, gynecology, ophthalmology, otolaryngology, and plastic surgery insures training in sterile surgical techniques.
Is the Surgeon a Member of the Volunteer Faculty?
Is the surgeon a member of the volunteer faculty of the local medical school? It is likely that any surgeon who teaches medical students and surgical residents will be up-to-date with current developments within his or her specialty.
