This article is from the WebMD News Archive
What's the Safest Form of Liposuction?
Jan. 15, 2003 -- Just how safe is liposuction? A widely reported study released three years ago found that it was not safe at all, with a death reported for every 5,000 procedures. But newly published research found no deaths among 66,000 people who had the cosmetic surgery under local anesthesia -- in which the liposuction area is numbed but the person is still awake.
The study's researchers say their findings prove the technique -- known as tumescent liposuction, is less risky than surgery performed while the patient is unconscious. But cosmetic surgeons that WebMD spoke to strongly disagree. The debate pits dermatologists favoring the local anesthesia approach against plastic surgeons, who still routinely use general anesthesia -- putting the person to sleep -- when they perform the elective procedure.
"In my opinion there is no good reason to perform liposuction under general anesthesia," study researcher and dermatologist Naomi Lawrence, MD, tells WebMD. "The bottom line is this is a very safe procedure that has gotten a bad rap, basically because there are two types of procedures being performed."
Lawrence and colleagues surveyed 261 dermatologic surgeons who performed more than 66,000 liposuctions on patients given local anesthesia between 1994 and 2000. No deaths were reported, and the rate of serious adverse events was less than 1 per 1,000 patients. The findings were reported in the November issue of Dermatologic Surgery.
In contrast, about 20 deaths per 100,000 procedures performed between 1994 and 1998 were reported in a survey of 1,200 plastic surgeons published in the January 2000 edition of the journal Plastics and Reconstructive Surgery. Most of the patients in the survey received general anesthesia or sedation.
"One death in 5,000 patients is a very scary number, and there is just no reason for it," New York dermatologist Bruce E. Katz, MD, tells WebMD. "Plastic surgeons who are concerned about the safety of their patients should switch to the tumescent anesthesia approach."
Katz says there is no good reason for sedating liposuction patients, but Los Angeles plastic surgeon Peter B. Fodor, MD, strongly disagrees. Fodor says general anesthesia is the only safe way to remove large amounts of fat through liposuction -- up to 5,000 cubic centimeters (169 ounces), compared with a maximum of about 1,000 cubic centimeters (34 ounces) under local anesthesia.
"When you tell a patient they have to have four or five procedures instead of one, that doesn't make them happy," Fodor tells WebMD. "The average patient needs at least 2,000 [cubic centimeters] of fat removed, and you can't do that under local anesthesia."
Indianapolis plastic surgeon Charles Hughes, who performs liposuctions under both general and local anesthesia, agrees that office-based surgery under local anesthesia is fine for patients who do not need large amounts of fat removed.
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Important Safety Information
- KAPIDEX may not be right for everyone. You should not take KAPIDEX if you are allergic to KAPIDEX or any of its ingredients. Severe allergic reactions have been reported.
- Symptom relief does not rule out other serious stomach conditions.
- The most common side effects of KAPIDEX were diarrhea (4.8%), stomach pain (4.0%), nausea (2.9%), common cold (1.9%), vomiting (1.6%), and gas (1.6%). KAPIDEX and certain other medicines can affect each other. Before taking KAPIDEX, tell your doctor if you are taking ampicillin, atazanavir, digoxin, iron, ketoconazole, or tacrolimus. If you are taking KAPIDEX with warfarin, you may need to be monitored because serious risks could occur.
Uses of KAPIDEX
- Persistent heartburn two or more days a week, despite treatment and diet changes, could be acid reflux disease (ARD). Prescription KAPIDEX capsules are used in adults to treat heartburn related to ARD, to heal acid-related damage to the lining of the esophagus (called erosive esophagitis or EE), and to stop EE from coming back. Individual results may vary. Most damage (erosions) heals in 4–8 weeks.
Talk to your doctor or healthcare professional. Please see full Prescribing Information for KAPIDEX.
You are encouraged to report negative side effects of prescription drugs to the FDA. Visit www.fda.gov/medwatch or call 1-800-FDA-1088.
KAPIDEX™ is a trademark of Takeda Pharmaceuticals North America, Inc., and is used under license by Takeda Pharmaceuticals America, Inc.
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