%0 Journal Article
%T Perforation of Abdominal Viscera Following Liposuction: A Systemic Literature Review.
%A Skorochod R
%A Fteiha B
%A Gronovich Y
%J Aesthetic Plast Surg
%V 0
%N 0
%D Aug 2021 30
%M 34462799
%F 2.708
%R 10.1007/s00266-021-02532-9
%X BACKGROUND: Liposuction is among the most popular esthetic procedures worldwide. With growing demand and popularity, reports of serious complications accumulate. Despite being a rare complication of the procedure, visceral perforation is associated with morbidity and severe debilitation.
METHODS: The authors conducted a literature search for reported cases of perforation of abdominal viscera following liposuction procedures in the electronic databases of PubMed, Scopus and Cochrane Library databases.
RESULTS: The authors found 22 publications; 19 cases case reports and three studies, reporting a total of 49 cases of visceral perforation following abdominal liposuction procedures. Average age of patients was 50 years (range 24-72). Twenty-seven patients (73%) were female, and 10 were male (27%). Forty (81%) patients underwent isolated liposuction, and nine (19%) had multiple procedures carried out in a single surgery. Twenty patients (42%) had undergone previous abdominal surgery, 13 (27%) suffered abdominal wall weakness or deformities, and 7 (14%) suffered from obesity. 25 (52%) ileal perforations occurred, 6 jejunal (12.5%), 5 colic (10%) and 2 (4%) each of splenic and hepatic. Seven patients (14%) died during their hospitalization, 20 (41%) were discharged with no sequelae complications, and 22 (45%) developed complications after discharge.
CONCLUSIONS: Liposuction is a popular esthetic procedure that underwent numerous changes over the past century since its introduction. Despite its widely accepted reputation of a safe procedure with minimal complications, a growing number of reports on visceral perforation following liposuction have emerged. Scrupulous pre-operative evaluation and high index of suspicion are crucial for avoiding complications and unfavorable outcomes.
UNASSIGNED: This journal requires that authors assign a level of evidence to each article. For a full description of these Evidence-Based Medicine ratings, please refer to the Table of Contents or the online Instructions to Authors www.springer.com/00266 .