Bruising After Liposuction-It Doesn’t Have To Be Bad

Is this you after your liposuction procedure?  I hope not but the reality is this is more common than mild bruising.  All that blood results in prolonged pain and healing and potentially a worse cosmetic result.  But this can be avoided.  It just takes thorough patient education and a patient surgeon.

Our preoperative package includes an extensive list of all medications, herbs, vitamins and anything else that has been shown to increase bruising.  The patients must read the list and initial our copy so that they understand the importance of it.  All medications etc. are stopped 7 days prior to surgery.  In addition I make sure there are no blood pressure issues.  High blood pressure definitely increases the risk of severe bleeding and bruising.  And while this is all well and good it’s really the surgeon who has the most control over the bruising.

Liposuction involves infiltrating the fat with tumescent solution.  This solution is lactated ringers with epinephrine and sometimes Lidocaine anesthetic.  The solution is infiltrated in a 1:1 ration of tumescent:fat removed.  This provides for the least amount of bleeding.    But the key is the epinephrine which allows the small blood vessels to constrict leading to less bleeding and bruising.  When the tumescent is infiltrated it takes approximately 7-10 minutes for full vasoconstrition.  Once this occurs the fat can be removed with very little blood in it and thus little bruising.  The problem is most surgeons don’t want to wait because the patient is paying for the room time and idling standing waiting for the skin to turn white increases cost.  So they start suctioning immediately and the result is bad bruising.

The final issue is compression.  The compression garments I use are always tight but in addition I add Topifoam (Byron Medical) with allows more compression with even distribution of pressure.  Topifoam decreases bruising and swelling after surgery and is left in place for 48 hours.

So bruising should not be severe.  Have a thorough discussion with your surgeon and voice your concerns about bruising before surgery.  If you would like to discuss liposuction or any cosmetic concern click here or call my office at 703.752.6608 for your complementary consultation.