Does Liposuction Cause an Increase of Cellulite?

Thank you for the question.

“Cellulite"  refers to irregularities that occurred on the surface of the skin. Liposuction will not cure or necessarily cause cellulite;  it will remove fat and reduce contour.  Patients with severe cases of cellulite  will not benefit from liposuction surgery and may require skin excision (for example  tummy tuck or thigh lifting)  to achieve the desired results.

I hope this helps.

 

Preoperative obesity, cellulite, stretch marks, a history of back and forth (yo-yo) weight change, or loose, sagging, inelastic skin, are problems which would tend toward poor results during a liposuction. In fact, these problems may be worsened by liposuction and may be best addressed by other procedures such as a leg or body lift (e.g. tummy tuck to improve your appearance. Basically, liposuction does not cause cellulite if performed correctly (in the right tissue plane and not removing excessive or uneven amounts), but the procedure may make existing cellulite more obvious or prominent.

 

Liposuction reduces the volume of fat, it does not consistently improve the appearance of cellulite. Sometimes, cellulite actually looks more apparaent after liposuction, and other patients see improvement.
Cellulite is apparent as connective tissue bands that are attached to the overlying superficial dermis and anchored to the undelying subcutaneous tissue. As the tissues engorge secondary to fluid retention, fat accumulation and hormonal influences, the swelling of the tissue occurs in all areas except immediately over the vertical collagen bands that hold down the skin. So, similar to the buttons on the top of a mattress, there are multiple areas of indentations in between the swellings.
Some physicians reported a technique where a sharp liposuction cannula was used to break up the collagen attachments and also tried fat injections to raise up the indentations. This apparaently has not been effective as most physicians are not doing this procedure. It might, in fact, make it worse.
No surgeon can guarantee that the cellulite will not worsen after liposuction. It is a risk that you have to be willing to accept for the tradeoff of the benefit of volume reduction via liposuction. Also, if some cellulite worsens, it doesn't mean that it would happen in the entire surgical area.