Losing Weight After Liposuction

Thank you for your question. While there are definitely concerns with respect to weight changes 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.Conversely, if you lose a lot of weight after liposuction, you may find the skin laxity appears to have worsened.  In addition, some contour irregularities that were previously masked with your previous weight starts to shadow through with weight loss.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.

Thank you for your question.Weight loss following a liposuction procedure should not cause significant laxity of the skin, assuming that you were an ideal liposuction candidate to begin with.  Ideal candidates are those patients who are close to, or at, an ideal body weight and who are aiming to target localized, stubborn fatty deposits/pockets that have been resistant to diet and exercise regimens in the past.  Liposuction is not a weight loss procedure and it is important that patients do not regard it as such. I hope you find this helpful.

Weight loss after liposuction won't make you "flabby". You'll experience a weight loss that's proportionate, so you'll remain leaner. However, significant weight loss may cause loose skin if done too quickly.

The ideal candidate for liposuction is one that doesn't need to lose weight, but needs to lose volume in a stubborn area, often genetically based.  If someone is overweight, and then has liposuction and then loses weight, the skin may retract well if it has good elasticity, but depending on age and amount stretched out, over time, it could sag too much.

It is best to be at a stable weight before undergoing any surgery.

Liposuction removes fat from under the skin.  So if more weight is lost, the balance is more in favor of sagging skin.  An experienced board certified plastic surgeon can guide you through that decision making tree.

I usually advise patients to be as healthy as possible, and not maintain extra weight on their bodies (stressing their heart, pancreas, etc) just to avoid looseness of the skin.

As long as you are talking about 10-15 pounds, it probably won't make a difference. If the skin has very poor elasticity, then it will be better to loose the weight before. Liposuction is not a weight loss treatment; it is to remove localized deposits of fat.

We always encourage patients to exercise and lose wt after liposuction since it only improves the results and helps the recovery process. 

As you know, liposuction is for spot reduction of areas that are resistant to change with diet and exercise. The question of skin tone is an important one. If there is some laxity of the skin, and diminished elasticity, then it won't be able to "shrink wrap" down after fat removal. A number of options are being used to help skin tightening with lipo, such as laser (about 17% more shrinkage), immediate post-lipo Thermage (about 40%), and VASER. However, none of these is enough to replace operations such as a tummy tuck for loose skin in the abdomen. I see poor outcomes almost every week in my practice on patients who were sold on the idea of avoiding the tummy tuck in favor of laser lipo. I recommend having an honest discussion with a plastic surgeon about your long-term expectations.

This is a very common question among patients undergoing liposuction, and in general the answer is that you want to be close to or at your goal weight prior to having the procedure.  This way, if you lose a few pounds in will probably not make a difference.  However, if you have the procedure first and then lose a large amount of weight, you probably will have some loose skin present.  

Questions
about weight loss and liposuction -- both before and after the procedure -- are
fairly common. A good candidate for liposuction is typically at or near his or
her target weight and wants to remove small amounts of fat in problem areas
such as the abdomen, flanks, thighs, and buttocks. Liposuction is not a
weight-loss procedure. If you lose a few pounds after getting liposuction, that
shouldn't lead to flabbiness in the treated areas. But significant weight loss
can result in loose skin, whether or not you undergo liposuction. Talking to a
qualified, board-certified plastic surgeon who can conduct a physical exam will
help you make a decision. Best of luck.