How will the fat return after liposuction?

Liposuction re-contours the body by reducing the number of fat cells. This is permanent and your body will not compensate by creating more fat cells if you maintain your weight. If one does gain a significant amount of weight, however, the fat cells that do remain can enlarge and diminish the benefits. Overall contour, however, remains improved. 

Hi! Thanks for your great question. In general, the body does not make or destroy fat cells after growth and development is complete. When we gain or lose weight, existing fat cells shrink and grow accordingly. Liposuction permanently removes many, or even most, of the  fat cells in the treatment area. So, if you gain weight after liposuction, fat cells all over your body will grow, including those remaining in the treatment area. However, since so many fat cells have been removed from the treatment area,  you will gain less weight there. 

Fat will get larger in all areas after eating and weight gain, but just not as much in the areas that had the Lipo...Resist the temptation to ruin your result by over eating...

Liposuction removes fat and fat cells that have the potential to expand with weight gain. Between reduction of number of fat cells and scar tissue that normally develops after surgery, "problem areas" are less problematic after liposuction. Having said that, it is extremely important to watch your diet and exercise after liposuction. Liposuction should only be used for localized "problem areas," not for weight reduction or an easy fix.

Fortunately, once you hit adulthood, you do not gain additional fat cells.  Once fat cells are removed from an area by performing liposuction, those fat cells will not return.  The remaining fat cells will get larger or smaller as you gain or loose weight.  That means that for modest changes in weight, your new shape acheived by liposuction should be largely preserved.

Your question about the effects of weight gain on the results of liposuction is an excellent one and a commonly asked one. Liposuction works by removing fat cells permanently, thus allowing for contouring. However, fat cells remain and those will change with increased weight - becoming larger. The distribution of the body's increased size due to weight gain will be different as compared to if no liposuction had been performed. The bottom line is that if you want to maintain your results, keep your weight at a stable level.

The Whack a Mole theory of fat reappearance and disappearance is a common urban myth. Like all other tissues, once surgically removed, the fat is gone and does not reappear. What does happen is SOME people confuse liposuction with a personal responsibility to watch what they eat. After surgery, as they consume more calories than they spend, the body will store these excess calories as fat in all REMAINING fat cells throughout the body. Since the areas treated do not have as many fat cells available to store fat, there appears to be a disproportionate increase in fat cells in the untreated areas. Hence the theory of the disappearing and reappearing fat.

It is best to maintain the same weight or lose some additional weight if possible.  Gaining weight following liposuction may cause an uneven distribution of fat depending on the response of you body and the amount of weight gained.

Thank you for the commonly asked question.

Fat cells that are gone (for example removed with liposuction surgery) are gone forever.  However, if a patient gains weight the fat cells that remain in the area treated with liposuction and in areas that were not treated will grow.  Do your best to maintain a healthy weight  after your procedure.

I hope this helps.

Once fat cells are removed they do not grow back, but those fat cells that remain may expand with increasing weight.  Usually weight goes on a bit differently after liposuction.