Commentary on: Effects of Thermal Protection in Patients Undergoing Body Contouring Procedures: A Controlled Clinical Trial

The authors¹ are to be congratulated on the development of a study of hypothermia on three controlled groups of plastic surgical patients who had body contouring, primarily liposuction. It has been reported that perioperative hypothermia occurs in 50% to 90% of all surgical patients when warming measures are not employed.² The deleterious effects of hypothermia that have been reported widely vary and include increased infection rates and postoperative pain, a range of negative effects on blood clotting, prolonged anesthesia recovery times, and shivering. Shivering causes pain and unpleasant sensations for the patient in addition to increasing significant other metabolic side effects.