Ask a Surgeon - Liposuction - I was totally shocked when my grandmother, who is in her sixties, informed me...

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I was totally shocked when my grandmother, who is in her sixties, informed me that...

Q:

I was totally shocked when my grandmother, who is in her sixties, informed me that she is going to have liposuction on her belly. More than being surprised, I'm worried. Isn't this dangerous for a person her age?

A:

Whether liposuction, the removal of excess fat using high vacuum pressure, is advisable for your grandmother depends upon many factors including her general health and the elasticity of her skin. If the skin is inelastic, she may find that liposuction leaves her with loose, baggy skin. (This would have to be corrected by additional surgery that would leave a scar.) Age in itself, however, is not a limiting factor in liposuction surgery. Many suction lipectomies have been performed, with good results, on people in their sixties, seventies, and even eighties.

Franklin L. DiSpaltro, M.D., FACS

Green Village, NJ

Practice Website

A:

It depends on her health. Liposuction does have risks, but healthy individuals usually do very well. Age can be a limitation, but usually because it is associated with loose skin that lacks the ability to contract after the fat is removed. She may not be able to achieve the results achieved when her skin was tighter and more youthful.

Aldo Guerra, M.D.

Scottsdale, AZ

Practice Website