Study links procedure to reduced triglycerides, white blood cell counts.
Outpatient Surgery Magazine
A study being presented at the American Society of Plastic Surgeons’ annual conference in Denver, Colo., this weekend finds that liposuction patients experience a reduction in triglyceride levels and white blood cell counts, which could potentially decrease patients’ risks for heart disease, stroke and diabetes.
The study measured triglyceride and cholesterol levels in 322 patients undergoing liposuction and/or a tummy tuck. Of those patients, 71% underwent liposuction only. Triglyceride levels in patients with normal pre-operative levels were unchanged. However, patients with elevated, at-risk levels (>150 mg/dl) experienced, on average, a 43% reduction in triglyceride levels after surgery, or about twice the effect achieved with a drug commonly prescribed to reduce triglyceride levels. The effect was similar in both men and women.
