I have rheumatoid arthritis. I want to get awake liposuction on my stomach area and love handles. Is that safe? Could I get it?

Thank you for your question. Yes it can be done. May need to know what meds you are on and need to talk to your rheumatologist. In our practice  we do lipo under local without general anesthesia most of the time.

this should not be a problem. Your plastic surgeon may want to communicate with your rheumatologist before the procedure.I perform liposuction without the use of General Anastasia.With our technology local Anastasia with mild sedation is all that's needed.My practice is exclusively devoted to liposuction and fat transfer only. Many plastic surgeons rely on General Anastasia.I find avoiding General Anastasia has numerous advantages.These include improved results, greater safety, faster recovery, less bruising and less swelling.Each plastic surgeon has their own ways of doing things and I am in no way stating that what I do is better then what other plastic surgeons may do.Years of experience of doing a single procedure over and over has helped me find tune what seems to work best for me.I suggest consulting with multiple board-certified plastic surgeon's in your area to see if you can find someone that will do this procedure without General Anastasia.There is a substantial learning curve in mastering awake liposuction.If you're going to have this procedure done without General Anastasia than you want to be in the hands of someone who does this on a regular basis.Best,Mats Hagstrom M.D.