As more people gain weight, more become interested in losing extra pounds without dieting or a physical exercise regimen. For the past 25 years, liposuction has become a popular procedure to extract pounds. However, the number of surgical errors is increasing at a disturbing pace.

Unfortunately, the procedure is apparently no safer in Pennsylvania or anywhere else than it was when liposuction was first introduced. A new study indicates that, along with some unscrupulous surgeons, state regulators are not diligently enforcing safety regulations.

Two physicians, one an anesthesiology consultant and the other a forensic pathologist, will report at the American Society of Anesthesiologists' annual meeting that many fatalities have occurred since the procedure was popularized, while using "tumescent anesthesia." The physicians have analyzed numerous liposuction death records, using the Los Angeles County Coroner's database.

Their troubling findings indicate that most people are unaware of the many hazards with liposuction. The way fat cells are constructed and held together by fibrous tissue creates trauma during surgery, sometimes transferring these cells to the heart and lungs via open blood vessels. This is but one of the risks.

Additional hazards are posed by local anesthetic toxicity, because of the high doses of local anesthetic necessary, and the procedure seems to generate a high risk of infection in many patients. Potentially life-threatening Streptococcus infections are all too common.

This new study indicates that a high percentage of fatalities and other complications are generated by inappropriate or careless anesthetic use. People considering liposuctions are urged to gather information on the procedure, the medical professionals involved and the potential risks. To be forewarned is to be forearmed.

Source: Anesthesiology News, "As Liposuction Deaths Mount, Study Exposes Cracks in Safety," Michael Vlessides, Oct. 3, 2012