Will Skin Be Tightened After Liposuction?

Dear Morenita,
Yes skin does contract after liposuction. However, if you are 45, it is unrealistic to expect your tummy to look like it did when you are 18. How good is the skin contraction? Good enough that many are very happy with the improvement and grateful that they avoid the disfiguring scar created by a tummy tuck. However, there are individuals who will benefit from the tummy tuck particularly if there is already a structural weakeness in the stomach wall, or a significant loss of skin elasticity as examples.
Carefully seek out individuals in your community who are motivated to help you achieve your personal goals. In particular, consider seeing surgeons of differing specialties such as dermatologic surgery and general plastic surgery. This helps you to avoid informational bias that might occur if you only see surgeons of one particular type of specialty.

The skin does shrink after liposuction, depending on the patient and the way in which the liposuction was performed.  It is very common to have nice smooth contours, but this depends on your starting point.

The liposuction procedure itself does not cause the skin to shrink. However, liposuction is a procedure that is selected for patients who have problem areas with the elastic skin covering them. In properly selected patients removal of the underlying fat will result in shrinking of the skin. However, in patients who have inelastic skin liposuction can indeed make the overlying skin appear more loose and uneven.Consultation with a plastic surgeon will give them an opportunity to evaluate your anatomy and skin quality to determine how best to achieve your goals.

Most patients are near normal weight and desire permanent contour changes. Patients with average weight, localized fat collections, and healthy elastic skin are the best candidates for liposuction as there is some tightening of the skin as part of the healing process. Obesity, cellulite, or loose, sagging, and inelastic skin are several conditions which may tend towards less desirable results. In fact, these problems may be worsened by liposuction. Unfortunately, many individuals performing liposuction are not trained in other techniques of body contouring and may not have the experience to recognize that a different procedure (such as a tummy tuck) may provide a better result for the patient. Suction Assisted Lipectomy (SAL) may be used in conjunction with other body contouring procedures, such as breast reduction, tummy tuck, thigh lift, or facelift.

Smartlipo can help tighten the skin a bit but mildly. It also depends on your skin elasticity - if it's good then you'll have better retraction. It's important to wear your compression garment and follow your surgeon's instructions to improve retraction.

                  Skin tightening following liposuction varies from
patient to patient and depends on a variety of factors.  It’s not unusual to have skin
tightening following liposuction in patients who are younger and have good skin
tone.  In older patients with poor
skin tone, liposuction might result in skin sag because of poor skin
contraction.

                  Skin
tightening isn’t unique to post-operative liposuction patients, but also occurs
following massive weight loss and pregnancy.  How individual patients respond to these changes is
dependent upon their genetics and biologic behavior.  Although multiple liposuction techniques are available that
reportedly tighten skin, the patients wound healing biology and genetics are
the most important variables.

                  If
you’re considering liposuction and are concerned about skin sag, it’s important to consult a board certified plastic surgeon
with experience in this area.  This
surgeon should be able to assess your risk for skin sag.