Higher risk of death from liposuction than car crashes

According to the Los Angeles Times, liposuction is a bigger killer than car crashes. The American Society of Plastic Surgeon figures show that nearly 11 million cosmetic surgery operations were carried out in 2006 – that’s a 7% increase on 2005 – with liposuction being the second most popular surgery, just after breast augmentation.

Although figures are not 100% accurate (due to factors such as unreported fatalities) it appears that liposuction carries a higher chance of death than being in a car crash does – deaths associated with liposuction could be as high as 20-100 deaths per 100,000 operations, compared to death from car accidents at around 16 per 100,000 crashes.

Perhaps these figures will make some people think twice about having cosmetic surgery procedures and indicates that you should always choose a surgeon on his credentials, rather than his prices.

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