With our continued experience in liposuction procedures and the progressive technological developments, we felt a review of our recent large volume liposuction cases was warranted.

A retrospective chart review was performed on 138 consecutive patients who underwent liposuction procedures of at least 5000 cc total fat aspirated per procedure. Data collection included patient demographics, total aspirate volumes, fluid input and output.

Candidates were between 19-65 years old and were within fifty pounds of their ideal body weight. Total fat aspirated ranged from 5-14 liters. Eight patients underwent two-stage procedures with over five liters total fat removed at each procedure. The majority of complications were minor postoperative seromas, occurring in 5% of cases. Other minor complications such as hypertrophic scarring, neuropraxia, and skin necrosis resolved uneventfully.

The review of our large volume liposuction cases over the past five years has reinforced our belief that this remains a safe and viable option for body contouring. We now incorporate ultrasonic lipolysis routinely in our practice and for extremely large volume cases, we have moved from a single stage large volume procedure to a multistage effort. These changes have proven to be extremely useful and effective in maintaining quality outcomes with minimal complications.