AbstractINTRODUCTION: Liposuction is a surgical procedure effective in reducing body fat, withgrowing application in conjunction with diet and exercise therapy in the treatment of obesity.In view of the positive effect of weight reduction on cardiovascular disease (CVD) riskfactors, such as body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), waist-to-hip ratio(WHR), systolic and diastolic pressure, lipid profile, fasting blood sugar, insulin resistance,inflammatory markers (e.g. chronic reactive protein: CRP), antioxidant capacity, fibrinogenand lipoprotein A (Lpa), this study was conducted to assess the effect of liposuction as atherapeutic procedure in the treatment of obesity.METHODS: A total of 24 non-diabetic obese women (BMI>30) with a mean age of48.7±7.3 years were studied. Before liposuction, the subjects filled out questionnairesobtaining demographic information. Complete physical examination, measurement of waistand hip circumference, height, weight and calculation of WHR and BMI were performed.Fasting blood samples were taken to measure fasting blood glucose, total cholesterol, highdensitylipoprotein (HDL), low-density lipoprotein (LDL), triglyceride (TG), fibrinogen,antioxidant capacity, CRP, lipoprotein A, serum insulin, and insulin resistance. Allmeasurements and physical examinations were repeated 12-14 weeks after liposuction.Data were analyzed with SPSS11 software using paired t-test and repeated measureANOVA.RESULTS: WHR, BMI and LDL decreased significantly following liposuction (P<0.05).Other parameters, however, did not change significantly, although there were signs ofpositive changes.DISCUSSION: Liposuction decreases BMI, WHR and LDL within 12-14 weeks ofliposuction. Providing these reductions are maintained, liposuction may prove valuable inreducing CVD risk factors, besides offering a means for obesity control.Keywords • Liposuction • Obesity