Liposuction Revision: What You Need to Know

Medically reviewed by Dr. John L. Burns Jr.Board Certified Plastic SurgeonReviewed on September 18, 2023
Written byMari MalcolmUpdated on September 15, 2023
RealSelf ensures that an experienced doctor who is trained and certified to safely perform this procedure has reviewed this information for medical accuracy.You can trust RealSelf content to be unbiased and medically accurate. Learn more about our content standards.
Medically reviewed by Dr. John L. Burns Jr.Board Certified Plastic SurgeonReviewed on September 18, 2023
Written byMari MalcolmUpdated on September 15, 2023
RealSelf ensures that an experienced doctor who is trained and certified to safely perform this procedure has reviewed this information for medical accuracy.You can trust RealSelf content to be unbiased and medically accurate. Learn more about our content standards.

Fast facts

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$6,675 average cost

Downtime varies

Local or general anesthesia


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Liposuction revision surgery, sometimes called liposuction correction or liposhifting, is a plastic surgery procedure that strategically removes or adds fat, to improve on the results of a previous procedure. 

Revision lipo can enhance a result that once looked great but has changed over time (weight gain or loss), or it can correct complications from a previous liposuction procedure, including asymmetry, indentations, or other contour irregularities. 

A revision procedure can usually be performed on any area of the body that was previously treated with liposuction, but “it is most often done on the abdomen and inner and outer thighs because the skin is thin or stretched out,” says Dr. Allen Gabriel, a board-certified plastic surgeon in Vancouver, Washington. 

Lipo complications and unmet expectations are two reasons patients commonly seek a secondary liposuction procedure. Patients may need secondary liposuction if their previous surgeon was inexperienced, but irregularities and other issues can also just be a result of the way a person heals. Age-related or weight changes can also contribute. 

Related: Liposuction Gone Wrong: 6 Signs of Bad Work and How to Fix Them

“Contour irregularities almost always result from over liposuction or removing too much fat, too close to the skin’s surface. Good liposuction is always subtle, with great care to avoid taking too much fat,” says Dr. John Burns, a board-certified plastic surgeon and president of the Dallas Plastic Surgery Institute.

If you’re unhappy with your liposuction results, it’s best to wait up to a year to revise the area, says Dr. Joel Beck, a plastic surgeon in Matthews, North Carolina. “During this time, the scar tissue typically softens, which allows the [revision] surgeon to better break up the scar tissue and improve the irregularity.”

Related: The Lipo Risk No One Talks About (and a Surefire Way to Minimize It)

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Cosmetic surgery to correct uneven lipo results may include:

  • additional liposuction, to reduce areas where too much fat was left
  • skin tightening or removal, to correct skin laxity that was created by the fat removal
  • fat grafting, in which fat harvested from other areas of the body is used to fill in dents, low spots, or other contour deformities

These treatments may be performed alone or in combination, depending on the patient’s unique concerns and the provider’s preferred technique for addressing them. 

In some cases, a different type of liposuction technique or body contouring procedure may be the best solution. 

For instance, many providers use VASER liposuction to treat fibrosis, a type of scarring that’s one of the most common complications of liposuction. It employs ultrasound technology to break down adhesions that form during the scarring process, which makes it easier to remove any remaining excess fat.

Related: Plastic Surgeons Say the Best Liposuction Results Have 4 Things in Common

Pros

  • It can correct irregularities that were created by your initial liposuction procedure (or present prior to it), including asymmetry, dimpling, or fibrosis. 
  • It can enhance an unsatisfactory result, where not enough fat was removed or specific treatment areas weren’t adequately sculpted.
  • A good lipo revision may boost your self-confidence.
  • It can be combined with other cosmetic procedures, such as fat grafting, a breast lift, or breast augmentation.

Cons

  • Liposuction gone wrong can’t always be fixed. For instance, scar tissue from the first surgery may make additional lipo extremely difficult or even impossible, in some cases. Your doctor will examine your situation and explain your options. 
  • Contour depressions requiring fat grafting may require more than one surgery to fix, depending on how much fat needs to be added. Results from fat grafting can also be unpredictable, as not all of the transferred fat survives.
  • Lipo revision carries the same risks as primary liposuction: swelling, bruising, bleeding, infection, and contour irregularities are all possible.  
  • Corrective surgical procedures can be costly. Your original surgeon may perform a revision at a reduced rate, but that’s not always the case—and you may not feel comfortable returning to them.
  • You’ll have a few days to a few weeks of downtime after your procedure, depending on how extensive it is.
  • You have to wait until you've healed from your first surgery (up to a year) before having a second procedure. Then it may take several more months to see whether the outcome of your revision procedure was successful.

  • Average Cost:
  • $6,675
  • Range:
  • $3,000 - $18,219

Your liposuction revision cost will depend on the details of your treatment plan (including your anesthesia), your surgeon's credentials, and their practice location.

If you return to your original surgeon, they may waive at least a portion of their surgeon's fee for a revision procedure, which could reduce your cost. 

If you choose a more experienced surgeon, you will likely pay more than you did for your original procedure. More skilled surgeons can change more for their time, and revision liposuction procedures are often more complex and time-consuming.

Interested in liposuction revision?

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The liposuction revision photos in our gallery have been shared by the provider who performed the procedure, with the patient's consent.

Liposuction revision is an outpatient procedure. General anesthesia or local anesthesia with twilight sedation are typically recommended. 

What happens during your procedure will depend on your concerns and treatment plan. If you have asymmetrical areas or results that simply don’t look sculpted or natural (what doctors refer to as “feathered”), a skilled, board-certified plastic surgeon or dermatological surgeon can perform a combination of treatments to create a more balanced result.   

Additional liposuction: 

  • If your original procedure is classified as an “undercorrection,” you can have more liposuction to get your full desired results. 
  • It will be much like the first procedure: your surgeon will make small incisions in specific areas and suction out more of the fat cells with a cannula. 
  • They may use an energy-assisted liposuction technology, such as VASER, to make the fat removal easier.
  • The risks, side effects, and recovery process will be the same as the first lipo, including wearing a compression garment as you heal.

High-definition sculpting or etching: 

  • Some patients express disappointment when their primary lipo result lacks definition.
  • In such cases, revision surgeons will typically use liposculpture techniques to delineate key muscle groups, like the abs, pecs, and biceps, by enhancing natural highlights and shadows.

Fat grafting

  • If your first lipo “overcorrected” the treated area, fat grafting can restore volume.
  • Your surgeon will remove unwanted fat from one body area and inject it into another, sculpting the fat for the desired result. 
  • While one session of fat grafting may improve small areas, significant fat volume restoration may require multiple sessions. 
  • Not all the transferred fat will survive, so results can be unpredictable.

Tummy tuck (or other procedures that tighten loose skin) 

  • If you have significant loose skin, your doctor can surgically remove any excess and redrape the remaining skin.
  • For less severe sagging (mild to moderate), they may recommend nonsurgical tightening procedures, such as BodyTite, Skintyte, or Thermage.

Interested in revision liposuction?

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Your downtime will depend on the type of revision you have. Everyone heals differently, but if you have additional liposuction or fat transfer, you can expect to take one to two weeks off from work and to wear a compression garment for several weeks post-op. 

If you have a tummy tuck or another type of surgical body contouring, plan on at least two weeks off work and six weeks of total healing time before you can engage in any strenuous activity.

You’ll see bruises subside after about two weeks and swelling go down after a few months. Full results are usually visible within a year.

Updated September 15, 2023

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