Liposuction Q&A
71%
WORTH IT RATING
"Worth It Rating" shows the % of consumer reviewers that stated the procedure was "Worth It" or not. See more RealSelf Worth It Ratings or Add Your Review
492 Reviews
Liposuctionbefore & after photos
View Before and Afters

Average Liposuction Cost: $5,150

Learn about Liposuction

2,757 people and 780 doctors are talking about Liposuction

Get Free Email Updates

Will Skin Be Tightened After Liposuction?

asked 2 years ago by morenita in houston texas
Latest answer by Christopher K. Livingston, MD
Question viewed 3,857 times
Tags: abdomen, sagging, skin, tightening

Does Liposuction cause abdominal skin to tighten or shrink again, so it does not look sagging?

23 answers to Will Skin Be Tightened After Liposuction?

+2

Skin is elastic, and will somewhat shrink after liposuction

As evidence by pregnancy, skin is elastic and will shrink somewhat with certain types of liposuction, especially the tumescent technique with the micro cannulas. A lot depends on your genetics, if you have stretch marks or not and how the procedure is done. Don't rush into a tummy tuck if you don't have to.
David Hansen, MD

Beverly Hills Dermatologic Surgeon

www.DrDavidHansen.com

+2

New Liposuction Procedure probably does NOT tighten skin

I have read all of the studies and tried some (not all) of the latest laser liposuction technology, but I am NOT convinced that they will tighten skin. If they did, I would buy the technology immediately. After all, this is what I do...and I want to give all of my patients outstanding liposuction results. The laser liposuction clearly helps to melt fat. I have seen this with my own eyes, but the results at three months did not seem to be any different than with tumescent liposuction alone. Th more
Thomas P. Sterry, MD

New York Plastic Surgeon
+2

Liposuction and Skin Retraction

After liposuction, the skin does somewhat retract back but there is a limit. A lot depends on your skin tone to begin with and age. The younger you are the better chance that the skin will retract. If you already have stretch marks in the area you are concerned about, then I would rely on liposuction, no matter what technique is used to have retraction of the skin. Hope that helps.
Farbod Esmailian, MD

Orange County Plastic Surgeon
+2

Liposuction and skin tightening or Laser Lipolysis

Traditional liposuction will remove fat and cause trauma to the tissue beneath the skin and to the collagen within the deep layers of the skin. By nature, damage to collagen results in tightening of the skin. I would consider this more of a side benefit of traditional liposuction than a goal. In the newer laser lipolysis systems, the goal is not only fat reduction, but, also skin tightening. The wavelengths that many of these systems use are designed specifically for 1. fat melting and 2.... more
Philip S. Schoenfeld, MD

Chevy Chase Facial Plastic Surgeon
+1

Loose skin

Ultrasonic liposuction (VASER) should tighten the skin over 6-12 months.  It depends on your skin quality and amount of excess which determines the total amount
Christopher K. Livingston, MD

Houston Plastic Surgeon
+1

Skin Shrinkage and Liposuction

Unfortunately liposuction does not shrink and tighten the skin despite the claim of many of the newly introduced "smart' devices. Skin laxity is in general a consistent and permanent occurrence and can only be treated by lifts and excisional surgery such as an Abdominoplasty. Liposuction in face of loose skin can make matters worse and create further laxity. So make sure that you understand the mechanism liposuction and more importantly make sure you wee out the false claims of many... more
Sepehr Egrari, MD

Seattle Plastic Surgeon
+1

Skin shrinkage after liposuction is modest

Skin shrinkage after liposuction can be modest at best regardless of the technique used. This can be true after weight loss as well. Some of the best predictions for actual contraction of the skin is young age, and comparison of skin tone and elasticity in several areas of the body, such as neck, abdomen, and under the upper arm. Contouring is often a balancing between fat removal with liposuction, and skin reduction through tummy tuck or arm lift. Elasticity lost from weight gain,... more
Peter E. Johnson, MD

Chicago Plastic Surgeon
+1

Skin can tighten after liposuction

Obviuosly, the qualityof the result depends on the quality (or elasticity ) of your skin. Standard liposuction does not do anything directly to tighten the skin. It can contract on its own if it has enough elastic fibers At the recent ASPS National Meeting, I presented a comparison of Smart Lipo on one side vs lipo alone on the other. There was a significant increase inelasticity and skin contraction on the Smart lipo side. This can help tighten your skin. Preliminary data of this was just... more
Barry E. DiBernardo, MD

Montclair Plastic Surgeon
+1

What happens to skin after liposuction

Hi Morenita - httYour skin may retract after liposuction and conform to the tissue below it. However, this depends on how much fat is removed and on the elasticity of your skin. If a lot of fat is removed and your skin has been stretched out for a while then it is not likely that your skin will retract. If a moderate amount of fat is removed and you still have good elasticity then you may get some tightening of the skin. It's hard to predict this, so I usually recommend liposuction... more
Jeffrey E. Schreiber, MD

Baltimore Plastic Surgeon
+1

Will skin shrink after dog bite?

That is the zillion dollar question. If we knew how to make skin shrink, we would not have to do facelifts, breast lifts, tummy tucks or thihg lifts. Unfortunately, there are no guaranteed ways to assure skin shrinkage. That is plastic surgery's last frontier in addition to anti-aging.
Otto Joseph Placik, MD

Chicago Plastic Surgeon
+1

Lipo vs. tummy tuck

It used to be that a tummy tuck was the only option for a woman with a bulging tummy. Then liposuction came along, and we could do a procedure with virtually no scarring. However, people who have especially slack skin in their midsection need more than what lipo can offer. Liposuction modifies volume by sucking out fat, and lipo candidates need good skin tone. Because liposuction stimulates the skin to tighten, good elasticity provides a smooth contour after fat is removed. Alternatively,... more
Michelle Copeland, MD, DMD

New York Plastic Surgeon
+1

Skin Elasticity and Skin Tightening after Liposuction

If you have loose skin before liposuction, you are going to have loose skin after liposuction. This is true regardless of technique (tumescent, Smartlipo, etc). If you have full skin (extra fat) but not loose and no stretch marks, then you are a great candidate for liposuction or Smartlipo. If you have loose skin, then you would likely be a better candidate for abdominoplasty or tummy tuck. Good luck.
David Shafer, MD

New York Plastic Surgeon

www.ShaferPlasticSurgery.com

+1

Has the scarless tummy tuck arrived?

There has been a lot of interest in the idea of enhancing skin shrinkage with liposuction, and some are even calling it the scarless tummy tuck. There was a spirited discussion on this at the recent meeting of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons. In a nutshell, here are the issues: skin shrinks to varying degrees with plain liposuction, so any enhancements have to be measured in comparison to that. Then there are 3 technologies that have all presented research data showing more skin... more
Richard Baxter, MD

Seattle Plastic Surgeon
+1

Skin shrinkage is unpredictable

There are many different factors that may affect skin shrinkage with liposuctioning including technique, skin quality, device used, amount of fat removed, how much skin is there... and luck. As plastic surgeons we can only give an educated guess as to what might happen in any individual patient. You need to see pictures of patients who have had minimal skin shrinkage and see if you would be willing to accept those results or willing to do surgical skin removal if that happened. more
John P. Stratis, MD

Harrisburg Plastic Surgeon
+1

Yes, skin does contract after liposuction

Dear Morenita, Yes skin does contract after liposuction. However, if you are 45, it is unrealistic to expect your tummy to look like it did when you are 18. How good is the skin contraction? Good enough that many are very happy with the improvement and grateful that they avoid the disfiguring scar created by a tummy tuck. However, there are individuals who will benefit from the tummy tuck particularly if there is already a structural weakeness in the stomach wall, or a significant loss of... more
Kenneth D. Steinsapir, MD

Los Angeles Oculoplastic Surgeon
+1

Skin can be tightened with liposuction.

Hi! 1) Patient selection is very important. Of course not every woman's skin can be tightened with liposuction. 2) But in good candidates (under 50 years of age, and only moderate looseness), skin can be tightened impressively with SUPERFICIAL liposuction. Also, at the end of liposuction, we perform sub dermal tunneling, which we think further tightens the skin. 3) This was conclusively demonstrated by Dr. Gasparotti from Rome years ago.
George J. Beraka, MD

Manhattan Plastic Surgeon
+1

Shrinking skin after liposuction is difficult

Morenita How much the skin shrinks after liposuction depends on your age, skin properties and whether you have had children. You inquire specifically about the abdominal area. If you have had a child, I find that none of the methods for liposuction will shrink the skin sufficiently. Sometimes slightly loose skin is acceptable to the patient, but the only way to really tighten skin is to remove the excess.
Francisco Canales, MD

Santa Rosa Plastic Surgeon
+1

Skin tightening and liposuction

Typically, after traditional liposuction, fat is removed but there is not a skin tightening effect other then contraction from scar tissue formation. However, with some of the newer liposuction techniques that utilize a laser or ultrasound device there is a skin tightening effect that occurs. The laser is able to stimulate your own collagen and produce a skin tightening effect. You should discuss with your doctor options for liposuction and some of your decision making process will depend... more
Jennifer S. Landy MD

Tampa Ophthalmologist
+1

It depends on many factors.

The skin will"tighten" if it is young, firm and elastic. As we get older the skin becomes looser and looses its elasticity. Therefore it will not "shrink". See an experienced liposuction doctor to guide you as to whether or not this will happen. If the skin is "hanging" liposuction will not take care of this.
Toby Mayer, MD

Beverly Hills Facial Plastic Surgeon
+1

Skin tightening after liposuction: a myth?

Patients, device companies, and surgeons talk about skin tightening after liposuction. If we are strict about what is happening biologically and physiologically, the only way skin itself can tighten is for scarring or some other contracting force to be applied to the skin. Skin contouring is different from skin tightening. The only way for skin to tighten is to create scarring in the dermal or deeper layer of the skin. Liposuction does not do this. Energy-assisted liposuction devices claim... more
Robin T.W. Yuan, MD

Beverly Hills Plastic Surgeon
+1

Skin tightening from Liposuction is unpredictable

There is NO WAY to predict if skin will tighten to your satisfaction after liposuction. If the skin is young, healthy(= not abused by sun, tanning booths or smoking), not containing stretch marks - then SOME skin shrinking can be expected after liposuction. If the skin is old, tanned, dry, thin, beat up and covered with stretch marks it will shrink poorly. Through the years, Plastic surgeons have tried multiple modalities of liposuction to bring about greater skin shrinkage ALL with mixed... more
Peter A. Aldea, MD

Memphis Plastic Surgeon
+1

Will skin shrink with liposuction?

This is the key question in answering who is a good candidate for liposuction and who is not. The skin that will shrink well is thick, healthy, has few to no stretchmarks, no rolls or folds, and doesn't continue to wiggle for a few seconds after you shake it. If the skin is good, it will shrink after liposuction. If it is not, the skin will be lax and disappointing looking. Please understand that no liposuction technology (ie Smartlipo or laser lipo) will make the skin shrink better than... more
Richard P. Rand, MD, FACS

Seattle Plastic Surgeon

Ask a question