Are Routine Labs Necessary? Postoperative Electrolyte Trends in Lipedema Patients Undergoing Liposuction…

Cohort studyAesthetic plastic surgery· Aug 2026

Are Routine Labs Necessary? Postoperative Electrolyte Trends in Lipedema Patients Undergoing Liposuction: Insights from a Single-Center Retrospective Cohort.

Christian Witulski, Tobias Niederegger, Lisa Scharff … Gabriel Hundeshagen

Aesthetic & Cosmetic SurgeryCohort studyClinical practiceQ1IF 2.2

Chloride rises but stays normal after liposuction in lipedema patients

Are Routine Labs Necessary? Postoperative Electrolyte Trends in Lipedema Patients Undergoing Liposuction: Insights from a Single-Center Retrospective Cohort.

Christian Witulski … Gabriel Hundeshagen

Aesthetic plastic surgery · Aug 2026 · Q1 in Surgery

Background

Liposuction is a standard treatment for advanced-stage lipedema, often involving large volumes of tumescent fluid infiltration and aspiration.

Methods

This retrospective single-center study analyzed 116 women with stage 2 or 3 lipedema who underwent liposuction between 2019 and 2023.

n = 116 women

104.7

Results

104.7

to 106.0 mmol/L

chloride increased slightly after surgery, staying within the normal range

n = 116 women

More results

Postoperatively, lower hemoglobin (13.6 ± 0.9 to 11.8 ± 1.2 g/dL, p < .0001) and hematocrit (40.9 ± 2.5 to 35.1 ± 3.5%, p < .0001) levels were observed, alongside higher leukocyte counts (7.6 ± 3.1 to 13.1 ± 5.9 × 10 9 /L, p < .0001).

All parameters remained within physiological ranges and were not associated with adverse outcomes.

More results

Calcium correlated with hemoglobin (r = 0.49) and hematocrit (r = 0.51) and inversely with aspirate volume (r = -0.41, p = 0.001).

“

Conclusion · 1 of 3

Post-liposuction electrolyte and hematologic changes are mild and clinically insignificant, reflecting predictable hemodilution rather than metabolic disturbance.

Conclusion · 2 of 3

Routine postoperative testing appears unnecessary for most patients, supporting selective monitoring in those with abnormal baseline values, high aspirate volumes, or relevant comorbidities.

Conclusion · 3 of 3

LEVEL OF EVIDENCE III: This journal requires that authors assign a level of evidence to each article.

Are Routine Labs Necessary? Postoperative Electrolyte Trends in Lipedema Patients Undergoing Liposuction: Insights from a Single-Center Retrospective Cohort.

Are Routine Labs Necessary? Postoperative Electrolyte Trends in Lipedema Patients Undergoing Liposuction: Insights from a Single-Center Retrospective Cohort.

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