ASAPS says no to liposuction for obese children

Many cosmetic surgeons have shared their particular points of view on the case of a 12-year old Texan girl who underwent liposuction to lose weight. Some spoke favorably about it, while others warned against the dangerous precedent set by the much-ballyhooed operation.

Now the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery or ASAPS has expressed its stand on the issue: Liposuction should never be used as a treatment for childhood obesity.

According to The Birmingham News:

Doctors said they were concerned that obese youths might be tempted to seek liposuction based on the experience of 12-year-old Brooke Bates, whose 35-pound weight loss from liposuction was chronicled in People magazine and has been widely reported elsewhere. The ASAPS, whose members are board-certified plastic surgeons, said there was no evidence the procedure is safe or effective for children.

Eating and exercise habits do not change as a result of the surgery," said Dr. Zachary Gerut, assistant clinical professor of plastic surgery at Albert Einstein Medical Center in New York and a member of the society's body-contouring committee. "The majority of people who have liposuction simply go on to gain the weight back. Liposuction is not a treatment for obesity in adults, and certainly not in children."