Can liposuction before pregnancy act as preventative measure to reduce pregnancy related body changes?

If you have skin that has good elasticity, liposuction of those areas will not produce saggy skin.   However, if you go through a pregnancy, the skin will lose some of that elasticity.  This loss of elasticity will occur whether you have the liposuction or not.  Very few women have good skin after pregnancy, but you may be one of the lucky ones.Kenneth Hughes, MD, Board Certified Plastic SurgeonLos Angeles, CA

Liposuctio cannot prevent what will happen with pregnancy.  You need a formal evaluation by an expert in body shaping and contouring to determine what is best.  Traditional liposution awake and smart liposuction are old methods and do very poorly for tightening skin or significant skin tightening or contouring.  Small problem areas can be improved slightly by these methods.  The best in body contouring not only removes fat with energy devices like VASER ultrasound but also internally heat the skin with radiofrequency devices such as J PLASMA/RENUVION, InMode BodyTite, ThermiRF to heat the under surface of the skin and tighten it at the same time as fat removal. These combinations are called 4D HIDEF VASER contouring and can only be done by a well . trained body contouring specialist. At the same time fat should be harvested, PRP and stem cells added and injected into muscles or indentations/cellulite to get body shaping and contouring.  This is known as a brazilian butt lift when you inject the fat to the buttock for contouring and lifting, but fat can also be used in areas such as the chest/breast, arms/shoulders, calves and face.  Cellulite should also be treated with cellfina, sculptra, subcision and/or fillers such as bellafill, renuva synthetic fat, or sculptra.  If skin is very loose before surgery then it will need to be removed such as lower abdominal skin (tummy tuck/abdominoplasty), breast skin (breast lift), arm skin (brachioplasty).  Overall you need a full assessment, but simple liposuction alone will not tighten skin and needs a combination of various methods -- fat removal, skin tightening, defining, fat grafting, skin removal -- to get the best in body contouring and body sculpting.  Dr. Emer.

Greetings

Thank you for your questions. Practically speaking the fat that has been liposuction doesn't increases much with weight gain compared to non-suctioned status.  Liposuction prior to pregnancy will have no positive or negative impact on the pregnancy’s outcome. But if you are planning pregnancy in near future, better do body contouring after family is completed. Please consult board-certified plastic surgeon near you and discussing in detail.

Best of luck.

Dr Milan Doshi

Mumbai, India

Thanks for your question.  I can understand your concern regarding body changes with pregnancy.  There are many factors that result in body changes with pregnancy and it's not just fat.  The skin stretches, the fascia/muscle stretches, and there is weight gain on top of the weight of the growing baby.  Liposuction will not affect these factors.  Liposuction is a body contouring procedure where fat is removed and that's pretty much it.  With liposuction, there can be some skin tightening and collagen formation.  However, that will not affect how you recover from pregnancy.  
So, in your case you say you are a typical Apple body shape.  I've seen women with your body shape and all different shapes who have had babies.  Some bounce back well and some have changes they didn't like, but their prior body shape was really not the issue.  Factors include age, genetics, lifestyle, nutrition, significant unhealthy weight gain, and others.  But a history of liposuction was not one of them.  
You said you heard some women "bounce back" quicker after lipo compared to previous pregnancy.  I'm not exactly sure what you mean by bouncing back quicker, because that is not typical.  However, if a woman developed a problem area resulting from fat which became apparent after a pregnancy and weight gain, then treated it with liposuction, they then treated the problem area.  If that same woman got pregnant again, that problem area would not recur, because it was taken care of.  As a result, her recovery, in terms of body shape, would seem better after the second pregnancy.  
I hope what I wrote makes sense.  It can be a bit confusing.  Bottom line, liposuction is used to removed fat to create a better body shape.  How the body responds to pregnancy is not really related to the fat distribution of the body, so liposuction will not prevent undesired changes due to pregnancy.  It can be used to treat problem areas related to fat distribution both before and after pregnancy.
Best of luck to you.  Dr. Jaime Bastidas

My 35 years experience has taught me trying to predict how a pregnancy will affect a woman is impossible! I cannot say that pre-pregnancy SAL will reduce your risks of body changes. I would  love to have the money for liposuction (LOL) but an alternative choice might be for you to be within 10 pounds of your ideal weight at conception and strictly follow your obstetrician's recommendations with regards to weight gain during pregnancy. Stretch marks usually come with the combination of hormonal changes and rapid stretching the skin. Sadly pregnancy can be a perfect storm for stretch marks and sagging skin. Wishing all the best a new mother, Ralph W Bashioum MD FACS.

Dear Acw.love,Hello and thank you for your excellent question. Liposuction alone will not affect your skin and body changes after pregnancy, so that should not shape your decision about when to have liposuction performed.  That being said, it is safe to perform liposuction before pregnancy... just don't expect it to affect the way your body changes during pregnancy. You may want to look into a body contouring procedure that combines both liposuction with laser, radiofrequency (RF), or acoustic therapy to produce the best balance of fat reduction and skin tightening and smoothing for your body type and anatomy. For the last 12 years, we have been developing a proprietary technique that we call IDEAL Liposuction. First off, all devices and instruments used are FDA-approved, unlike some of the liposuction and fat transfer devices being used today. These procedures are usually performed in the office, with only local anesthesia. We typically use Smart / Laser Liposuction or VASER (ultrasound) to reduce dense, fibrous fat, and stimulate collagen formation; Radiofrequency-based skin tightening to maximize skin contraction; and Ultrasound, RF, or subcision (Z Wave, Venus, Cellfina) to treat cellulite. Patients go home the same day as surgery, do not need any narcotics postop for pain control, and can return to light exercise and work two days after their procedure. In my practice, we select the appropriate treatment for each patient based on their skin quality, amount of fat and surgical goals. It is best to answer your question during a face-to-face evaluation, when you can discuss your goals and expectations for the procedure, and you can have a physical examination to evaluate for that procedure. I recommend that you find a board-certified, or board-eligible plastic surgeon with whom you are comfortable. Be sure to have all of your questions answered during a face-to-face meeting with your surgeon, and review before and after pictures of similar patients whom have had this procedure. If you have any questions, call our office for assistance. Good luck!

Best,

Jon Ver Halen, MD FACS

Harvard educated plastic surgeon

Texas “Top Doc” 2017, 2018

RealSelf100

America’s Top Plastic Surgeons, Consumer’s Research Council, 2010 – 2018

BeautyAdvisor Top Contributor

Hi and welcome to our forum!
There is controversy whether to perform liposuction before or after pregnancy. 
Proponents claim that having liposuction before pregnancy provides a smoother result as the skin is pristine. Pregnancy may alter the skin if the skin is overstretched, and liposuction may not achieve optimal results. 
Non-advocates relate that pregnancy will alter the appearance of the abdomen anyway, and having the procedure prior to pregnancy may represent a waste of money.
The removal of a layer of fat from the soft tissues of the abdomen will not affect the ultimate development of stretch marks as the growing fetus will stretch the skin, soft tissues, and muscle much, much more significantly than an inch of excess fatty tissue.
If pregnancy is on the horizon, we recommend waiting until after childbirth. If pregnancy is only a consideration in the distant future, it would make much more sense. I recommend liposuction only if it will provide improvement in body shape, not as a preventative measure.
Best wishes...