Age 38, 140lbs, risks of fat embolism during or after liposuction with regional anesthesia?

Safety is the number one priority in surgery. There are several steps that are taken to keep your risk as low as possible. Many of them are within your control. The first is to select an experienced board certified plastic surgeon with whom you feel comfortable and confident. Board certification ensures your surgeon has gone through additional extensive training in their specialty. During your visits your surgeon should listen to your concerns, review your medical history, and determine if you are a good candidate for the procedure. Your surgery should be performed in an accredited facility. This means that the facility has undergone rigorous surveys to ensure high quality standards. You can also keep your risk low by avoiding any nicotine or TCH use, maintaining a healthy diet and exercise routine, and closely following all of your surgeon's preoperative and post operative instructions.

The risk of thromboembolic events is highest in patients undergoing abdominoplasty and is significantly higher than fat embolism; it will depend on the patient's weight, medical history, history of previous vein thrombosis, family history, etc. Only on the basis of in-person evaluation and detailed history, a surgeon can give you an estimate of risks (low, moderate, high) based on the Caprini score. Every patient undergoing abdominoplasty in our surgery center will go through a rigorous preoperative evaluation, perioperative measures as well and an intensive follow-up. In high-risk patients, perioperative and postoperative antithrombotic medications are given for 1-2 weeks after surgery.