Abstract:

We report the case of a 30-year-old woman with cirrhosis due to autoimmune hepatitis, who entered a private clinic to perform lipoinjection and fat liposuction; At the end of surgery, progressive reduction of oxygen saturation levels and capnometry, marking strokes of electrical activity without pulse, CPR maneuvers, and enipinefrin administration were performed, with no results. She was transferred to the hospital where CPR maneuvers were performed again, and later, less than one hour after her admission, the absence of heart disease was corroborated by ultrasound and the patient was declared deceased. Fat embolism is known to be a frequent entity in orthopedic surgeries; however, given the increase in the supply and demand of plastic surgeries, among them liposuction, it has been presented with a greater incidence in aesthetic procedures with the passing of the time, taking greater interest and among the doctors who perform such procedures.

Key words: Fat embolism; fatty embolism syndrome; liposuction; acute respiratory distress syndrome; acute respiratory failure