Are the risk of blood clots and other life threatening complications high for Smart Lipo high definition?

The risk of fatal complications from cosmetic procedures, is overall very low, far less than 1% of people who have plastic surgery. However, the risk of developing VTE, or venous thromboembolism, from liposuction or other major body contouring procedures, can be as high as 1% or more depending on the source that you read. This is why it is important to pursue treatment from board-certified plastic surgeons who are trained to look at, amongst other things, a Caprini score that determines your risk for a VTE event. If your risk is high, you may still be able to undergo the procedure with the administration of blood thinning agents postoperatively.

The risk of blood clots and other life threatening complications after Smartlipo should be very rare, providing that the Samrtlipo is preformed by an experienced plastic surgeon and done in operating theatre. I have preformed more than 3,000 cases of Smartlipo since 2006 and I did not have any case, where the patient had a blood clot or any other life threatening complications.

Smart lipo and high def lipo are two different things. Smart lipo is a laser procedure that seeks to tighten the skin a little bit before the fat is suctioned out with standard lipo. High def lipo is an advanced lipo technique to remove fat artistically around muscles to enhance definition and it is not done with lasers. The risk of blood clots is not related to either of these procedures. The risk of blood clots is increased when longer procedures are done, when more extensive procedures are done, and when general anesthesia is used no matter what procedure is being done.

Dear fox_91,
every surgery has potential complications. However, with good preoperative preparation and surgical technique the risk is very low. If you are considering a surgery, I would suggest you to consult a board-certified plastic surgeon. Only after a thorough examination you will get more information and recommendations.
Daniel Barrett, MD
Certified, American Board of Plastic Surgery
Member, American Society of Plastic Surgery
Member, American Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery

It’s not a form of Liposuction that can lead up to clot formation in the legs and risk of pulmonary embolisation. It is the form of Anesthesia administered to the patient that increases the risks of clot formation. The highest risk of clot formation comes from general anaesthesia where the patient is intubated. In order to be intubated the patient has to be paralysed and if you are paralysed there is no muscle fasciculation in the legs and the flow of the blood is significantly slowed forming clots. The safest forms of anaesthesia include sedation and local anaesthesia. I hope this helps and good luck from New York City Plastic Surgery

I don’t have current statistics but my best guess is the chance of having a fail loud, from Liposuction is probably around one in 15,000.

To put that into context the chance of dying from driving an automobile is roughly 1 and 10,000 per year.

Most plastic surgeons consider Liposuction one of the safer procedures.

In my opinion the biggest risk and what’s most patients should be worried about is not dying from the procedure but rather being left disfigured from being in the hands of a provider lacking skill and experience.

Choosing a board-certified plastic surgeon with an excellent reputation and many years of experience who has a proven track record of delivering high-quality consistent results it’s your best option for getting a quality outcome and having a safe procedure.

To choose the correct provider I suggest having multiple in person consultations.

Look for board-certified plastic surgeons with many years of experience who have a collection of before and after pictures that reads like a telephone book.

Avoid providers with any significant number of justified negative reviews on the various physician review websites.

While being left disfigured is not considered a medical complication it is a highly undesirable outcome that can be avoided by properly vetting providers before committing to having the procedure.

Best,

Mats Hagstrom MD

Hi and welcome to our forum!
The true incidence of thromboembolic disease is unknown as many patients are totally asymptomatic. In the literature, up to 1% of patients undergoing liposuction develop thromboembolic disease. The mortality rate of liposuction patients is 1/47000 patients. To compare, the lifetime risk of one's death from a motor vehicle accident is 1/107. Liposuction is a safe procedure.
Best wishes...

Since I do all of my Smartlipo cases, including HD, under local anesthesia with oral sedation, there is very little risk of blood clots or DVT. High definition, smartlipo, if done without general anesthesia, should have little risk of blood clots.

david berman md, frcsc