Is there less of a risk of a fat embolism with just Liposuction vs. BBL?

  Fat embolism is a very poorly understood phenomenon and is extremely rare.  It can occur with liposuction as well as with other surgical procedures.Kenneth Hughes, MDLos Angeles, CA

The risk of getting a fat embolism is definitely lower with liposuction alone. However, the risk with liposuction is not negligible. For this reason, I would recommend that you find a surgeon who is experienced with these procedures, in order to minimize these risks. 

Fat embolism is really a risk of fat injection and it would be extremely rare would liposuction alone. A fat embolism happens when fat gets into the bloodstream and causes inflammation the lungs. Motor vehicle accidents with a femur fracture where fat from the bone marrow gets into the bloodstream is a classic mechanism of fat embolism. So the key when you're doing a fat injection is trying to do things to decrease the chance of fat getting into the bloodstream.

I think that for both cases the risk is extremely low.  I do not know if there are statistics available that determine if one has a higher risk than another.