Liposuction - When the Operation is Not Right for You

Not everyone is an eligible candidate for liposuction for various reasons. For example, liposuction, which is also sometimes referred to as lipoplasty, is not suitable for overweight or obese people. This is because it is not a substitute for healthy eating and regular physical activity. Liposuction is a cosmetic surgery procedure whereby superficial fat is removed from the body when it cannot be shed by conventional methods. This operation can be done on the arms, abdominal area, the buttocks, hips and thighs. There are even times when it is performed on the face and the neck.

This procedure is routinely performed on both male and female patients. Men and women tend to desire plastic surgery of this sort on different areas of their bodies. Men visit plastic surgeons primarily to have work done on their abdomens and their outer thighs, while women seek it out for their abdominal area, their arms, hips, thighs and the area under their chin.

Everyone who wants to have liposuction also wants to be an ideal candidate for it. Unfortunately not everyone is. Another example is the state of your health. This makes a tremendous difference in whether or not you will be cleared for the cosmetic operation or not.

People who are not healthy carry a greater potential for complications during the procedure as well as following it. People who have any kind of serious and/or chronic disease do not make good patients of liposuction. For example anyone who suffers from edema, diabetes or recurrent infections of any type does not make an appropriate candidate for this type of fat removal surgery.

If you have suffered from heart problems in the past (or do presently) or have ever had blood clots (of which there are ones that develop in the legs and/or the lungs), or suffered from excessive bleeding, then you should not have this procedure done. It is too risky. The same is true if you have ever suffered from seizures or have immunodeficiency disorders.

Skin must be able to bounce back to its original form as much as possible following this type of surgery. That means it must be elastic enough and tight enough to withstand the pressure that will be exerted upon it during lipoplasty. Skin that is elastic enough contains a sufficient percentage of collagen and elastin. This is something that the cosmetic surgeon can assess when you meet with him or her. Not having skin that is elastic enough to shrink following the procedure can result in baggy and loose skin after the recuperation period which is not something that any patients wants to have to cope with.

While liposuction is performed on individuals of many different ages those over the age of 40 or 50 are more likely than younger patients to have low elasticity. This is something that must be emphasized to the patient-to-be at the consultation with the operating physician. The same can be said for cellulite and stretch marks. If you have too much of either then this lessens your eligibility.

Any drugs that increase the chance of bleeding while the patient is on the operating table can make a risky situation even worse. Certain drugs can fall into this category. They include non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDS) and Warfarin, which is given to patients to thin their blood. Even taking aspirins on a consistent basis for any purpose puts a prospective patient at a great risk of complications. Individuals on any of these medications are not good candidates for fat removal procedures.