Why are my arms getting fat after BBL?

Question

I'm 3 months post Bbl. I had lipo all over my midsection, a little on the inner thighs and submental areas. That's all fine. I didn't do my arms bc they have always been skinny. Now, they are getting so fat, they jiggle, my sleeves are really tight, they look big! Is this because the fat is trying to find a deposit site? And now my arms are going to take on the fat? I'm thinking this bc they weren't lipoed. Help! How to fix this! I don't wanna ruin my Bbl by loosing a ton of weight.

Joseph Thornton, MD · Answer

This is a common question I get after all types of liposuction procedures.  Will I get fat again?The way we get fat or skinny is by our existing fat cells either filling up (when we are consuming more calories than we are burning) or emptying out (when we are burning more calories than we are eating).  In the areas where you have liposuction there are now fewer fat cells, so those areas will be less reactive to weight gain or weight loss.  However if you are gaining weight, the fat will find somewhere to go and often the untreated areas will now become your problem areas.If you watch your diet and exercise you should see an improvement in your arms, but will also lose a bit of fullness on your backside.  Just go slow, drop a few pounds and you should see your old arms come back, and just keep an eye on your BBL.  Around 3 months is where we tend to see stability in the BBL, but it's possible it might still go down a bit even if your weight is stable.

Vijay K. Bindingnavele, MD, FACS · Answer

Weight gain or swelling would explain this.  Liposuction does not cause extra 
fat deposits elsewhere.  There is some swelling that occurs after liposuction 
and can persist for a while, even upto 3-4 months.

Mats Hagstrom, MD (license on probation) · Answer

Having liposuction or fat transfer should not have an impact on non-treated areas other than potential swelling immediately after the procedure.If you feel like your arms are getting bigger than you should be stepping on the scale every day to make sure you're not gaining weight.if you gain weight the non-treated areas will  behave like they did before the procedure.The areas treated with liposuction will have less fat cells and will not fluctuates as much with weight change.The area treated with fat transfer will fluctuate more with weight change.Best,Mats Hagstrom M.D.

Why are my arms getting fat after BBL?

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Why are my arms getting fat after BBL?

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