Objective: The most common surgical procedure for obesity is liposuction, the majority of which are small-volume procedures. The effect of large-volume liposuction on cardiovascular risk and insulin sensitivity has been variable. This study was performed to evaluate the effect of the more common, smaller-volume liposuction on insulin sensitivity, inflammatory mediators, and cardiovascular risk factors.
Subjects and study design: In all, 15 overweight or obese premenopausal women underwent metabolic evaluation prior to, 1 day following and 1 month following suction lipectomy of the abdomen. Metabolic evaluation included assessment of free fatty acids, glucose, insulin, insulin sensitivity by frequently sampled i.v. glucose tolerance test, and adipokines (IL-6, angiotensin II, leptin, PAI-1, adiponectin, and TNF-alpha).
Results: Free fatty acids did not change acutely although there was an almost 30% decrease in free fatty acids at 1 month. Fasting insulin levels decreased at one month from 8.3 +/- 1.1 to 5.6 +/- 1.3 microU/ml (P = 0.006). Insulin sensitivity by i.v. glucose tolerance test did not change at 1 month (4.0 +/- 0.8 to 5.0 +/- 0.7, P = 0.12) although with subgroup analysis insulin sensitivity improved in obese but not overweight participants. Several adipokines worsened acutely (IL-6 increased 15 fold and angiotensin II increased 67%), but there was no change in PAI-1, and other adipokines (adiponectin, leptin, and TNF-alpha) decreased. At the 1-month follow-up, all adipokines were similar to baseline.
Conclusion: This study provides little evidence supporting increased or decreased cardiovascular risk although there is evidence supporting improved insulin sensitivity at one month, especially in obese women.