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What causes burns in Liposuction?

I've seen BBL cases where the girls end up with burns. What causes this ? And how can I avoid this from happening to me? I'm not about to spend thousands of dollars to have my body ruined so I want to make sure this can be avoided

Doctor Answers 4

Burns from BBL liposuction

June 16th, 2014
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Thank you for your liposuction question.

  • Burns of the skin from liposuction come from using heat-generating machines to melt the fat,
  • The two types are laser and vaser (ultrasonic heat).
  • If fat is removed with any heat generating machine, it kills the fat.
  • Any surgeon doing a BBL this way is too ignorant of surgery to do this procedure.
  • If the surgeon doesn't understand this basic aspect of surgery, s/he is likely to be dangerous to patients.
  • In our area, we had one doctor, not trained in surgery, doing BBL - and 2 patients died.
  • Injecting dead fat into the buttocks will either cause rapid fat absorption or oil cysts that do not absorb.
  • BBL done correctly removes fat without heat at a low pressure. Even then  fat may not survive.
  • Please see a Board Certified Plastic Surgeon if you are considering a BBL. Best wishes.
Elizabeth Morgan, MD, PhD
June 16th, 2014

Burns from BBL liposuction

{{ voteCount >= 0 ? '+' + (voteCount + 1) : (voteCount + 1) }}
Thank you for your liposuction question.

  • Burns of the skin from liposuction come from using heat-generating machines to melt the fat,
  • The two types are laser and vaser (ultrasonic heat).
  • If fat is removed with any heat generating machine, it kills the fat.
  • Any surgeon doing a BBL this way is too ignorant of surgery to do this procedure.
  • If the surgeon doesn't understand this basic aspect of surgery, s/he is likely to be dangerous to patients.
  • In our area, we had one doctor, not trained in surgery, doing BBL - and 2 patients died.
  • Injecting dead fat into the buttocks will either cause rapid fat absorption or oil cysts that do not absorb.
  • BBL done correctly removes fat without heat at a low pressure. Even then  fat may not survive.
  • Please see a Board Certified Plastic Surgeon if you are considering a BBL. Best wishes.
Elizabeth Morgan, MD, PhD

Burns after Liposuction

June 15th, 2014
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Burns are caused when an energy source, either laser or ultrasound, is used with the liposuction. The fact that you have seen this after BBL shows you that untrained physicians attempting many of these cases. A trained plastic surgeon who understands both liposuction and fat grafting did not do these cases. Fat grafting, the essential procedure in BBL, is a very demanding procedure. The fat must be removed in a manner that does not damage the fat cell. It then needs to be washed and processed and then injected in such a way that the fat cells remain alive and grow. Harvesting the fat cannot be done with any method using an energy source as this will kill the cells. In fact, it must be done very carefully with less suction than is usual in order to protect the cells. Choose a board certified plastic surgeon who can show you excellent results with the procedure.
Robert T. Buchanan, MD

Robert T. Buchanan, MD
Highlands Plastic Surgeon
5.0 out of 5 stars 7 reviews

June 15th, 2014

Burns after Liposuction

{{ voteCount >= 0 ? '+' + (voteCount + 1) : (voteCount + 1) }}
Burns are caused when an energy source, either laser or ultrasound, is used with the liposuction. The fact that you have seen this after BBL shows you that untrained physicians attempting many of these cases. A trained plastic surgeon who understands both liposuction and fat grafting did not do these cases. Fat grafting, the essential procedure in BBL, is a very demanding procedure. The fat must be removed in a manner that does not damage the fat cell. It then needs to be washed and processed and then injected in such a way that the fat cells remain alive and grow. Harvesting the fat cannot be done with any method using an energy source as this will kill the cells. In fact, it must be done very carefully with less suction than is usual in order to protect the cells. Choose a board certified plastic surgeon who can show you excellent results with the procedure.

Robert T. Buchanan, MD
Highlands Plastic Surgeon

Liposuction Burns

June 14th, 2014
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The most common cause of burns in liposuction is the use of energy by a non plastic surgeon not familiar with the proper technique. Find a board certified Plastic surgeon.
Samir Shureih, MD

Samir Shureih, MD
Baltimore Plastic Surgeon
4.2 out of 5 stars 7 reviews

June 14th, 2014

Liposuction Burns

{{ voteCount >= 0 ? '+' + (voteCount + 1) : (voteCount + 1) }}
The most common cause of burns in liposuction is the use of energy by a non plastic surgeon not familiar with the proper technique. Find a board certified Plastic surgeon.

Samir Shureih, MD
Baltimore Plastic Surgeon

What causes burns in Liposuction?

June 13th, 2014
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  I perform hundreds and hundreds of Brazilian buttlifts each year, and I have not seen a burn.  The burns can be caused by heat sources used to liquefy fat or tighten skin.  If you want to avoid burns, you must avoid these heat sources.

Kenneth Hughes, MD

Los Angeles, CA

Web reference: http://www.hughesplasticsurgery.com/brazilian-buttlift-photo-galleries.php

Kenneth B. Hughes, MD
June 13th, 2014

What causes burns in Liposuction?

{{ voteCount >= 0 ? '+' + (voteCount + 1) : (voteCount + 1) }}
  I perform hundreds and hundreds of Brazilian buttlifts each year, and I have not seen a burn.  The burns can be caused by heat sources used to liquefy fat or tighten skin.  If you want to avoid burns, you must avoid these heat sources.

Kenneth Hughes, MD

Los Angeles, CA

Learn more: http://www.hughesplasticsurgery.com/brazilian-buttlift-photo-galleries.php

Kenneth B. Hughes, MD

These answers are for educational purposes and should not be relied upon as a substitute for medical advice you may receive from your physician. If you have a medical emergency, please call 911. These answers do not constitute or initiate a patient/doctor relationship.