Im going to do a Tummy Tuck, liposculpture in Colombia in 2 weeks. I'm 199 lbs & 5'7. What's a safe amount of fat to take out?

Thanks for your question.  Generally the limit of recommended fat to remove with a single liposuction procedure is about 5 litres.

In general it is recommended that no more than 5 liters be removed when you are not staying overnight in an accredited facility. Of more concern is that you are traveling for your surgery. How long are you staying there to recover? Are the facilities accredited where your surgery is scheduled? Is the surgeon fully credentialed? Who will take care of any complications that happen post operatively? Please make sure you have these questions answered before you go.

In general, the ASPS recommends no more than 5 litres of fat removal for outpatient surgery. When combined with other procedures this may need to be modified to a lower amount for patient safety. More important, if you are travelling to a country outside the US and Canada for surgery it is imperative that you ensure that your facility adheres to similar safety standards that would be necessary to be accredited back home. Laws are not as strict in many countries and corners may be cut in order to provide the cost savings that is so attractive to those looking to travel for surgery. Best of luck with your procedure!

If safety is your biggest concern, then I think the amount of fat being removed is not as important an issue as where you're having your surgery and who is performing the surgery.  Will you be going home after your surgery, or will you stay for observation in the facility?  For larger volume liposuction (over 5 L) we have those patients stay over night in our 23 hour unit with a minimum of 1 on 1 nursing to carefully monitor thstatus.

Hi
Leah, thanks for your tummy tuck question. Do you know what kind of
anesthesia (general or local mac) and what kind of facility where you will be
having your procedure? Here in the US, the board certified plastic
surgeons are held to very high standards for safety and the ASPS (American
Society of Plastic Surgeons) website may also have some information on
questions to ask your surgeon from South America. In general, the amount
of fat to be taken out can also be determined by each individual patient and if
the patient is scheduled to have an overnight stay with physician
observation. Best of luck to you. -Dr. Coan

Usually in office based settings it is recommended by the plastic surgery societies to not take more than 5 liters of fat off in any one session of liposuction.

hola Leah, you need to lose weight before the procedure in order to get a good result.good luck!!!!!

Dear Leah1919,

Thank you for your clinical question and this is a common
one. In general, the safe amount of fat
to remove is that amount of that that gives the contour improvements without
inducing a complication. Statistically,
most jurisdictions such as in the United States and Canada would recommend no
more than 5 litres of combined aspirate (that’s not just the fat) to be removed
during liposuction session that is outpatient based. Of course when the procedure is performed as
an inpatient 5 litres or more might be able to be harvested safely, but when
combined with an abdominoplasty or tummy tuck most surgeons would modify the
amount of fat to be removed as the risk increases particularly for deep venous
thrombosis and pulmonary embolism.

As you are doing cosmetic surgery outside of the country of
Canada, it’s most important that you ensure that the facilities are credited,
that the surgeon is a board certified plastic surgeon that you have ongoing
short-term and long-term care until you’re ready to return home as there’s
nothing riskier than getting a complication in a country that may not have the
kind of advanced health care services that you see in Canada and the United
States. I’m sure many areas of Colombia
have excellent advanced medical care and just ensure that your surgeon and
facility have the kind of safety and backup that you would require.

During the recovery phase after returning to Toronto you want
to make sure you have follow-up with a certified plastic surgeon that can
assist you if there’s any concerns or issues.

I hope this information has been of some assistance and best
of luck.

For more information, please review the link below.

R. Stephen Mulholland, M.D.

Certified Plastic Surgeon

Yorkville, Toronto

The American Society of Plastic Surgeons recommend no more than 5 liters removed at one time to decrease complications.  Your surgery may need to be staged.   Good luck.  Donald R. Nunn MD  Atlanta Plastic Surgeon