Who is Qualified to Do Liposuction?

While many people do liposuction, many of those people should not be doing liposuction. Plastic surgeons are specifically trained to do liposuction as part of their surgical education. Many other specialities (just look through the ads in a newspaper on any given day) advertise that they do liposuction as well. However, it is unclear to me where they get their training. My best advice would be to go to a few consultations to plastic surgeons who have performed liposuction on people you know that have had nice results. If you do not know anyone who has had liposuction, ask the surgeon if any of their patients would be wiling to talk to you about their procedure. Questions to ask the doctor include: What type of liposuction they do? What type of anesthesia is used? How many liposuction procedures they perform in a given month? How often do they have to make revisions? How much do they plan to aspirate? If they are doing the liposuction in their office or a surgicenter, ask them at which hospital do they have admitting privileges?
You should find a surgeon who you feel comfortable with and who takes the time to answer all of your questions and addresses your concerns.

Thank you for your question. Liposuction is a simple procedure. However, I recommend you choose a qualified, properly trained, and experienced board-certified plastic surgeon for this procedure. Best wishes.

Thank you for your question. If you are thinking about Liposuction. Always be sure to choose a board certified plastic surgeon who has experience. Best of luck! Dhaval M. Patel Double board certified Plastic surgeon Hoffman Estates  Barrington Oakbrook Chicago 

Laws tend to vary from state.  In most states, any medical doctor with a license can perform liposuction.  However, it is vital that one remembers liposuction is a surgical procedure requiring special training, expertise, and experience.  Just because any licensed doctor can perform the procedure, does not mean this is the right choice for a given patient.  I recommend that patients consult with a board certified plastic surgeon with experience performing liposuction.  Sometimes it is best to see multiple surgeons to determine which one is right for you. 

Bear in mind that liposuction is surgery: Incisions are made (even if tiny), instruments are inserted into the body, and tissue is removed, some times in large amounts. There is a lot of marketing hype these days minimizing the surgical aspect of the procedure, but it should be done in a surgical facility. A board certified plastic surgeon (American Board of Plastic Surgery) will only work in properly licensed facilities so choosing an ABPS surgeon is a good place to start..

In Georgia, after internship and passage of the boards, doctors are permitted to perfom legally "medicine and surgery". So although it is legal, it is not necessarily good or even ethical. I would recommend a board certified plastic surgeon (after all,  liposuction is surgery) who performs it regularly.