A national survey of complications associated with suction lipectomy: a comparative study

In March of 1988, a survey form was sent to all 2695 U.S. and Canadian members of the American Society of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeons. Nine-hundred and thirty-five members responded, for a response rate of 34.7 percent. The purpose of the survey was to ascertain the total number of major liposuction, dermatolipectomy, and abdominoplasty procedures performed from January of 1984 to January of 1988 and to compare nine specific complications that are associated with these three procedures. The 935 surgeons reported a total of 112,756 procedures performed: major liposuction (75,591), dermatolipectomy (10,603), and abdominoplasty (26,562). Nine major complications were surveyed: mortality, myocardial infarction, cerebrovascular accident or transient ischemic attack, pulmonary thromboembolism, fat embolism, major skin loss, anesthesia complication, transfusion complications, and deep venous thrombosis. The findings in this survey showed, when comparing these three procedures and the nine types of complications, that the complication rate for major suction lipectomy was 0.1 percent, for dermatolipectomy 0.9 percent, and for abdominoplasty 2.0 percent. Fat emboli did not prove to be a significant factor associated with any of the three procedures. However, of the 15 reported deaths (major liposuction 2, dermatolipectomy 2, and abdominoplasty 11), pulmonary thromboembolism was the causative factor in 9 deaths (60 percent). Based on these analyzed data, we feel that major suction lipectomy has a low complication rate and is a reasonably safe procedure.