Does Weight Gain After Stomach Liposuction Bring Fat Back to Upper Body?

Thank you for your question. While there are definitely safety concerns with respect to weight and liposuction there are several considerations:1) Are you goals for the surgery achievable with liposuction? E.g. Liposuction is not a weight loss procedure, even though you will lose a few pounds. It is more to contour areas of the body.2) Is your weight stable? i.e. does it fluctuate upwards or downwards more than 10lbs? Weight gain after liposuction will diminish your body contouring results as the remaining fat cells enlarge to store more energy. In addition, you may that other parts of the body that were not liposuctioned may enlarge disproportionately compared to pre-liposuction weight gain. If your weight is stable, your results will also be stable.3) There are increase risks with liposuction if your BMI is greater than 30.I would recommend that you visit with a board certified plastic surgeon who can work with you to discuss your goals and discuss whether liposuction is the right procedure for you. In our practice, we offer a pre-surgical and post-surgical weight management program to balance our patient's weight and body contouring goals.

Gaining weight after liposuction, the fat has to go somewhere.  It will go in some degree to the entire body, even the areas that are suctioned.  Hopefully, you won't gain so much weight that it creates contour abnormalities elsewhere, as this is unusual.

Liposuction is a procedure that targets localized
collections of fat. The fat cells in these problem areas are different from
other fat cells because they’re typically hormonally sensitive and diet
resistant. For this reason, these fat cells don’t respond to diet and exercise.
When patients diet and exercise, they lose weight in the surrounding areas, but
the problem areas are only minimally effected.

Liposuction is an effective method for removing fat
cells from these problem areas. Once these fat cells are removed, fluctuations
in weight are associated with a more even distribution of fat.

Following liposuction of the abdomen, subsequent
weight gain wouldn’t occur primarily in the upper body, but would be more
evenly distributed throughout the body. In contrast, prior to liposuction,
weight gain might affect the mid-section disproportionately.

Liposuction is a significant investment and for
this reason, should be accompanied by life style changes. These changes are the
best way to insure that fluctuations in weight don’t create these types of
problems in the future.