How Much Fat Can Be Liposuctioned Safely?

asked 4 months ago by Butterhoney in New Brunswick, NJ
Latest answer by Tom J. Pousti, MD
Question viewed 189 times
Tags: amount, quantity, safety

10 answers to How Much Fat Can Be Liposuctioned Safely?

Liposuction Safety

There is not a one-size-fits-all answer to this question. People come in many shapes and sizes and the amount of liposuction that can be done varies from person to person and facility to facility. If you weight 200 pounds and you remove 10 pounds of fat, you are removing a much smaller percentage than someone who weights 120 pounds and has 10 pounds of fat suctioned. Additionally, the setting of the liposuction makes a difference - whether you are having the surgery in an... more

David Shafer, MD
New York Plastic Surgeon

www.ShaferPlasticSurgery.com

Limit liposuction volume for optimal safety

Your question is a very good one that deserves a thorough answer. In the 1990's, when the 'tumescent" technique was becoming popular and doctors from different specialty training started doing cosmetic surgery, higher and higher volumes of fat were removed. Along with this came an increase in complications including some fatalities, and liposuction started to be percieved as a dangerous procedure. Plastic surgeons organized a task force to determine how to best do lipo safely... more

Richard Baxter, MD
Seattle Plastic Surgeon

How Much Liposuction is Safe?

The limiting factor for liposuction is the amount of numbing or blood vessel constricting fluid that is used. For some people only the tummy can be safely treated in one session. For others who might be thin, the "tumescent" fluid can go across the tummy with enough to do the thighs also at the same time. To be safe, we go by a person's weight and other things such as other medications to determine what the safe limit is for a person. At your consultation, all this will... more

T. Wayne Day, MD
Nashville Dermatologic Surgeon

Liposuction Safety?

Thank you for the question. Although there are “guidelines” provided by our professional societies, safety of any surgical procedure becomes a judgment call made by the surgeon involved. Factors that are involved in this decision-making include: the specific patient involved, age and health status, facility in which the procedure is being carried out, and the patient's intraoperative response to the procedure etc. Keep in mind that an appropriate... more

Tom J. Pousti, MD
San Diego Plastic Surgeon

How much fat can be removed safely by liposuction?

Your question is far too broad to have one simple answer because multiple factors play a role in determining the safety. Your best bet would be to be evaluated by a plastic surgeon who could then discuss your situation in great detail including recommendations regarding volume. The prudent and acceptable upper limit of volume removal in general for safety is 5 liters though more can be taken out but with a statistically higher risk for problems.

Steven Turkeltaub, MD
Scottsdale Plastic Surgeon

www.turkeltaub.com

Liposuction

At the extremes like 10 liters safety is compromised but if you do the procedure in the hospital and closely follow the patient you can safely remove that amount of fat. If you are not a surgeon and try to remove a few hundred cc of fat you can kill a patient. It is really not a fair question. The better question would be how much fat could safely be removed from you and in what venue (office or hospital operating room). That would depend on your medical condition, who is doing the surgery,... more

Aaron Stone, MD
Los Angeles Plastic Surgeon

How Much Fat Can Be Liposuctioned Safely?

As the other surgeons have answered, there are different guidelines published to answer that question. But looking at statistics of outcome, when you start approaching 5000cc bad things can happen including death. You should definitely be in an accredited facility and maybe even a hospital overnight when you get close to that volume due to all the cardiovascular consequences. Remember this is cosmetic surgery and there is absolutely no reason to get even close to risking your health.... more

Ronald V. DeMars, MD
Portland Plastic Surgeon

How much fat can be liposuctioned safely?

This is an excellent question, but the answer is more complicated. The short answer is 5000cc or 5.5 quarts. Different surgeons look at this number in different ways. For me, 5000cc is the amount of fat plus the fluid that is suctioned. Some interpret this as 5000cc of fat only (total volume could be up to 8000cc!). The concern is lidocaine toxicity. Again, different surgeons use different dilution of lidocaine solution. I use 35mg/kg maximum dose, some use 50mg/kg or higher. The lidocaine... more

George Marosan, MD
Bellevue Plastic Surgeon

The amount is 6 liters as outpatient procedure

The amount of the liposuction depends on many factors like patient's weight,fat content and patient's health. The guideline from the plastic surgery society is 6 liters as outpatient procedure.

Kamran Khoobehi, MD
New Orleans Plastic Surgeon

Liposuction and fat amount

While an unlimited amount of fat can be removed per se. It is probably safe to limit the total amount to about 5 liters during any one procedure. This takes in account fluid shifts in the body with the tumescent fluid technique. Of course a patient has to be healthy and medicall cleared and of course a candidate for the procedure.