Does the Cap of 5 Liters of Fluids Removed During Smartlipo Include All Fluids or Just Fat?

Usually, this means 5 liters of aspirate, total fluid removed, blood, fat, infiltration fluid.  Some stretch this and only refer to “fat” aspirate.  Five liters is a large amount of total aspirate and is a good risk profile to take.

Most Plastic Surgeon will limit fat removed during one session of liposuction to less than 5 liters. This is done for safety reasons. Most people do not have 5 liters of fat in the liposuction area. It is possible to remove more than 5 liters, but we recommend that the patient be hospitalized after the procedure to monitor fluid and electrolytes of the patients. The amount of fat removed is determined by the Plastic Surgeon NOT the patient. Your board certified Plastic Surgeon should determine the level of liposuction that is safe for you. Remember, your liposuction can be staged (2nd lipo in the same area) to remove additional fat. Finally, liposuction is a contouring procedure and not a weight loss procedure.

Usually most plastic surgeon will limit the amount of fat removal to 5 liters during a single procedure. This does not include the fluid amount.  This is related to safety recommendations from our society.

Five liters may be a random number, however it has proven to be safe for most cases of liposuction.    If a person conditions themselves for liposuction through proper nutrition and exercise, it would rarely be necessary to consider removing more fat than this.  Liposuction is not a substitute for weight loss.