Doctors have warned of the life-threatening complications of liposuction after a woman nearly died following the procedure.
The 45-year-old was treated in intensive care at Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospital Trust after falling ill around 36 hours after having the fat removal treatment.
While liposuction is usually considered safe, complications are becoming more common because of rising numbers of obese patients having the treatment, who are more likely to experience problems.
The woman is thought to be the first person in the UK to develop fat embolism syndrome (FES) after liposuction.
The 45-year-old was treated in intensive care at Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospital Trust after falling ill around 36 hours after having the fat removal treatment
Denise Hendry, the wife of former footballer Colin Hendry, died in 2009 from complications caused by a botched liposuction operation in 2002)
The rare but serious condition is thought to be caused by dislodged globules of fat which travel through the body and block blood vessels. This can lead to organ failure as the blockages cut off blood supply to vital organs such as the lungs and brain.
Symptoms can come on rapidly and include extreme breathlessness, pain in the chest, fever, rash and a high heart rate.
While liposuction is usually considered safe, complications are becoming more common because of rising numbers of obese patients having the treatment
Patients may also suffer disorientation, confusion and seizures, and can go into a coma.
The woman, who was obese, also had lipoedema – a condition where parts of the body become enlarged due to a build-up of abnormal fat cells.
She had liposuction surgery with the aim of removing some of the bulk from her lower legs to enable her to become more mobile and start to lose weight. She had previously had a gastric bypass and suffered from depression.
The surgery went well and saw doctors remove between 10 to 13.5 litres of fat and fluid from her legs.
But around 36 hours later she became drowsy, had difficulty breathing, a rapid heart rate and rash.
She was rushed to intensive care where she was put on a breathing support machine and given various drug treatments.
After 12 days in intensive care, she was moved to a normal hospital ward and allowed home two days later. She fully had recovered after two months.
Writing in BMJ Case Reports, medics who treated her said doctors should be on the lookout for signs of FES, although they stressed that it was unusual.
They said: ‘Fat embolism caused by liposuction is a rare complication with few case reports published worldwide and none to date in the UK.’
But they added: ‘Liposuction is a procedure that is growing more common worldwide and is being done in higher-risk patient groups with more comorbidities [multiple health problems].
‘While generally a safe procedure… In a small number of cases patients go on to develop the uncommon and potentially fatal FES.’
The condition can also be triggered by injuries like fractures and severe burns, or by pancreatitis. In rare cases it has been seen in patients who have hip or knee replacements, as well as those who have liposuction.
Research into deaths caused by liposuction has found the risk of dying from the procedure is between 0.003 and 0.1 per cent.
Denise Hendry, the wife of former footballer Colin Hendry, died in 2009 from complications caused by a botched liposuction operation in 2002.
She suffered nine punctures to her bowel during the procedure, which caused bacteria to spread from her stomach to her brain causing meningitis.
She died during complex surgery to correct some of the problems caused by the procedure.