Mumbai, June 11
The misconception about
Liposuction being surgery aimed at weight loss is causing adverse health
complications, including deaths among women, health experts said here
on Thursday.
They said that a lot of women have started
undergoing liposuction considering it a shortcut of weight loss and
ultimately end up suffering from excessive blood and fluid loss, leading
to shock, fat and blood clots, which may travel to the lungs and even
buildup of fluid in the lungs.
Liposuction is a cosmetic surgery
operation that removes fat from many sites on the human body. Areas
affected can range from the abdomen, thighs and buttocks, to the neck,
backs of the arms and elsewhere.
"This procedure is done
routinely in India and certainly not with the same finesse everywhere.
Been ruled by the British, Indians have a passion for foreign materials
and services provided. Perhaps the other reason is lack of
confidentiality that is practised by many in this country," said Mohan
Thomas, Senior Cosmetic Surgeon at Mumbai's prominent Cosmetic Surgery
Institute.
Emphasising that liposuction was just a body
contouring procedure, he said that a lot of people undergone it for the
sake of weight loss. Also, if it is not performed with the proper
technique and standards there are chances that the patient can suffer
from health disorders.
Citing the case of popular Telugu actress
Aarti Agarwal, who died of a cardiac arrest after undergoing
liposuction, Thomas told IANS that a comprehensive preoperative work up
is essential before considering any procedure cosmetic or even
otherwise.
"Intra-operative monitoring is key to a safe and
successful outcome which includes planes of anaesthesia, fluid
management, cardiac monitoring, kidney function - urine output," he
said.
In a recent survey done by the American academy of cosmetic
surgery and the Aesthetic Plastic surgery society, 85 percent of the
dissatisfied patients chose a surgeon-based on the fees alone and
suspect more of it here in India.
Madhuri Agarwal, Dermatologist
and Aesthetic physician at Yavana Aesthetics Clinic said that pricing
appears to be the key factor in deciding and influencing surgical
procedures which at times leaves negative effects.
"Liposuction
is a minimally invasive procedure to remove fat and enhance body
contouring. It is ideally recommended for patients who have resistant
fat which is non responsive to diet and exercise and should not be used
as a short cut for weight loss,"Agarwal told IANS.
"It is also
essential that the procedure is performed by a board certified plastic
surgeon, who has considerable experience performing these new
techniques," he added.
