I would like to know the facts about liposuction-including the side effects of the procedure.

Liposuction: Liposuction is done to remove some of the fat from under the skin. During this procedure, a canula attached to a syringe or a machine with negative pressure is used to remove the fat through small holes in the skin. See a plastic surgeon to make sure that you are a good candidate for the surgery. Side effects can be infection, areas of depressions or elevations, unsatisfactory results etc etc.

Risks: Liposuction carries risk of infection, bleeding, skin contour irregularities, unsatisfactory skin redraping or cosmetic result, deep venous thrombosis, pulmonary embolism, and even death. Having said that, liposuction done by well-trained/experienced physicians is a generally safe and well tolerated procedure for patients with localized areas of adipose tissue and good quality skin elasticity.

Safe under local: Liposuction is a very safe and effective procedure if performed by an experienced and qualified physician using local tumescent anesthesia. More common side-effects are bruising, tenderness, swelling. Less common are infection and bleeding. Rare but serious complications include coma, reaction to anesthesia, seizures, brain damage, and death which are more likely to occur under general anesthesia.

Many resources: There are many resources to learn more about liposuction options. You can go to plasticsurgeory.Org and have correct information. You can go to most plastic surgeons' websites and learn about it. Or you can just go for a consultation with your plastic surgeon and ask all of your questions.