DVT or Embolism Possible During Smart Lipo?

The risk of DVT is higher with longer cases, general anesthesia and genetic predisposition. There are preventive measure to decrease the risk including Sequential Compression Devices (SCD), Heparin , Lovenox injections and local anesthesia. The reason for the DVT post transatlantic flights are dehydration , bend knee (cramped seats) and long hours without ambulations. Laser lipo is a short case , under local anesthesia and patient can move their legs. Proper treatments during the surgery... more

It's a really important question that you are asking and the answer to it is that if you do the SmartLipo using tumescent method without general anesthesia, your risks of any problems with DVT are essentially none. On the other hand, if you go to a place where the tumescent anesthesia is in name alone and you are put under general anesthesia or heavy sedation, you will end up having a great deal more risk. These risks are not only with DVT, but also with blood clots elsewhere, infections,... more

Many people develop DVT while traveling on an airplane. So there are no guarantees that using local will prevent it although it will likely lower your risk of DVT formation.  There are many other factors which increase your risks such as Factor V Leiden, oral contraceptive usage, etc.

Believe it or not even under these conditions you can get a DVT but the risk is much less. There are a host of risk factors and ways to reduce the risk based on history, age of patient, length or the procedure, type of anesthesia and others.

A DVT can happen with any type of surgery.  Yes, there is a lower risk with patients that are awake with shorter surgeries, with DVT prohpylaxis implemented, etc..  The risk is pretty low with these measures.