Current trends of liposuction in India: Survey and Analysis

BACKGROUND: Liposuction is the commonest aesthetic procedure performed by Indian plastic surgeons. However, there exists substantial disparity amongst Indian surgeons about guidelines concerning liposuction. To address this disparity, a nationwide email survey (Association of Plastic Surgeons of India [APSI] database) was started in December 2013 and continued for 5 months. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The survey was developed with software from www.fluidsurveys.com. The study was designed to cover most aspects of patient selection, perioperative management, technical considerations, postoperative management and complications. This is the first survey to be conducted in India for an extremely popular procedure. It is also one of the most exhaustive surveys that have been conducted in terms of the topics covered. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: One hundred and eighteen surgeons (including a majority of the cosmetic surgery stalwarts in the country) completed the survey. As expected, the results show a disparity in most parameters but also consolidation on some issues. Liposuction is considered extremely safe (86.1%). The majority of surgeons (70.3%) aspirated >5 L at onetime. The majority (80.2%) felt that the limits for liposuction should be relative and not absolute. The survey highlights lack of standardization with respect to infiltration solutions. The commonest complications observed were contour irregularities, followed by seroma and inadequate skin redrape. The amount of aspirate is the only factor, which achieves statistical significance with respect to major complications. A review of the current evidence and recommendations has been incorporated, along with an in depth analysis of the survey.