The risks of liposuction or cosmetic surgery can go beyond money or hospital time. Women who suffer or die after liposuction pay a huge price for weight loss surgery.

Krista Stryland, a 32-year-old real estate agent in Toronto, died from cardiac arrest after a liposuction procedure at the Toronto Cosmetic Clinic. She was a single mother of two who probably wasn't fully aware of the risks of liposuction.

The liposuction was performed by Dr Behnaz Yazdanfar, who has no hospital privileges or specialties. Nor is Behnaz Yazdanfar listed with the College of Family Physicians of Canada as a family doctor, though she is a trained family doctor. Whether Yazdanfar reviewed the risks of liposuction with Stryland may never be clear.

Krista Stryland chose liposuction over plastic surgery (a tummy tuck), since plastic surgery is riskier and more invasive.

The risks of liposuction or weight loss surgery: dying to be thin

The risks of liposuction or cosmetic surgery don't usually include death. However, weight loss surgery can be fatal. According to the Mayo Clinic, "fatalities may be caused by anesthesia or by shifts in the body's fluids level as fluids are being injected and sucked out. The fluid shifts can cause heart and kidney problems."

Krista Stryland died after the liposuction procedure. Ontario's chief coroner has performed an autopsy and hasn't yet decided whether to hold an inquiry into Stryland's death. Even so, the risks of liposuction will probably be more carefully reviewed by plastic surgeons and patients from now on.

Ontario's College of Family Physicians doesn't have firm regulations about cosmetic surgery. At this point, there are no standards for the quality of care at private clinics or credentials of doctors or surgical facilities. The risks of liposuction or weight loss surgery may have been ignored.

What is liposuction?

Liposuction isn't a weight loss program, though obesity surgery seems like an effective way to lose weight. Liposuction works on areas that diet and exercise don't: waist, buttocks, thighs, calves, knees and belly. Liposuction isn't a cure for obesity, which means people who have liposuction won't necessarily be thin for the rest of their lives.

During liposuction, fat deposits are sucked out from the body with a tiny vacuum. This weight loss surgery could be a minor operation or major surgery, depending on how much fat is removed.

Liposuction does not remove unwanted cellulite.

Good candidates for liposuction

When people have stable body weight and too much fat in particular areas, such as their thighs, buttocks or belly, they may be good candidates for liposuction. Liposuction patients must be healthy, without heart problems, poor blood flow or a weakened immune system (at this point, it's unknown whether Krista Stryland suffered from these complications). Candidates for liposuction or weight loss surgery must have firm skin, or extra surgical procedures to remove excess skin may be required.

Risks of liposuction

According to the Mayo Clinic possible risks of liposuction can include "contour irregularities", numbness, infections, internal punctures, and death. Any major surgery – cosmetic surgery, liposuction, gall bladder surgery – has risks of bleeding, adverse reactions to anesthesia, or various complications depending on the surgery. The risks of liposuction are similar to the risks of any major surgery.

Liposuction is the safest cosmetic surgery

According to the Aesthetics Surgery Journal, the mortality rate for liposuction is one in 46,000. Liposuction is one of the safest cosmetic surgeries performed. The risks of liposuction are usually small.

Even so, any medical procedure has risks, even getting wisdom teeth pulled. The key is deciding whether the procedure is truly necessary for one's emotional, physical, spiritual and cognitive health and wellness. If not, weight loss surgery may not be worth the risk.

If you found The Risks of Liposuction: Minimizing the Complications of Weight Loss Surgeries interesting, try:

• Best Weight Loss Program
• Risks of Weight Loss Surgery
• Mental Health Effects of Obesity
• Body Image and Fear of Intimacy