How long does liposuction last and is it worth it?

Your liposuction will 'last' if you don't gain weight. A good candidate for liposuction is a patient who is at a stable and sustainable weight. 

Thank you for your question.  The fat that is removed with liposuction is removed permanently.  Liposuction is a permanent method for fat reduction and the procedure will permanently change your body proportions.  Ideal candidates for liposuction are those patients who are at a stable and sustainable weight who have localized areas of stubborn fat pockets that are resistant to diet and exercise regimens.  Liposuction is not a weight loss procedure, rather the goal is to sculpt the body and provide patients with better overall body contour.  After a liposuction procedure, patients always run the risk of accumulating more fat in both the areas treated and not treated if they put on weight.  This new fat accumulation will be evenly distributed throughout the body, but the proportions obtained from the liposuction procedure (for example, the waist to hip ratio) should still be maintained.  It is important that patients maintain a healthy lifestyle, with both diet and exercise, post-operatively in order to maintain their liposuction results.  If you are interested in having a liposuction procedure, I would recommend scheduling a consultation with a board-certified plastic surgeon who is well-experienced in liposuction and body contouring procedures.  It is important to have this consultation as this meeting and physical exam will best determine your candidacy and what type of cosmetic result or improvement that a patient can expect.  I hope this answers your question and best of luck!

Thank you for your question.  Regarding a "lasting" result from liposuction, I tell this to all my patients:  Your body has a relatively fixed number of fat cells, which act as reservoirs for fat, expanding and contracting with weight gain or loss, accordingly.  Liposuction involves permanent removal of a certain number of these cells, resulting in a decreased ability to store fat in the area that was treated.  If you are to gain a significant amount of weight after surgery, fat will be preferentially stored elsewhere.  This can result in a somewhat strange-looking, asymmetric distribution of fat.  For this reason, as well as general health, it is of paramount importance to maintain a healthy lifestyle of diet and exercise after undergoing liposuction.

Yes, liposuction lasts! Once the fat cells are removed they will not come back. It is possibly though that some of the remaining fat cells can increase in size if there is a significant weight gain. Generally though, with the appropriate lifestyle changes and a good diet, results are lifelong! Best wishes. 

Does Liposuction Last and is it worth it - for most - ABSOLUTELY. However it will never take the place of diet and exercise to keep your weight stable. If you can do this then you will have long lasting improvement.In general, yes. If you gain a large amount of weight, however, the operated area will also increase but not as much as would have occurred before the operation. Make sure that before you begin the procedure, you are as close to as your ideal weight as possible, as well as being able to maintain it. If you are able to maintain a healthy lifestyle after the surgery, then I would say that it is worth it. That way, the results will be more permanent.

Liposuction is typically performed to remove fat cells located in problem areas that don’t respond to diet and exercise. When these fat cells are removed with liposuction, they are gone forever. The only exception is when the patients are morbidly obese. Under these circumstances, fat cells can experience re-growth.

Unfortunately, poor life style choices such as over eating can result in weight gain. This can lead to enlargement of the remaining fat cells in areas that have been previously treated with liposuction. This can result in re-accumulation of fat in these problem areas and a recurrence of the original problem.

In most cases of weight gain following liposuction, the previous problem areas are minimally affected. The weight gain is usually more evenly distributed throughout the body and is therefore less problematic. It doesn’t significantly impact body contour and the over all aesthetic result.

Weight gain can have a significant impact on a patient’s result following liposuction. For this reason, it’s extremely important that patients maintain a healthy life style following this procedure. This will prove to be the best way to protect your investment and make it all worthwhile.

 

1.       Patient: “If I get liposuction of my stomach…all the fat will go to my elbows?”

 

Dr. S: WRONG!!!!  If the fat cells are physically removed from your abdomen and fat reappears it will evenly distribute to your body.  That being said, most people who have lipo are more inspired to diet and exercise.

 

2.       Patient: “I think liposuction does not last.  All the fat just came back.”

 

Dr. S: WRONG!!  Again, if the cells are physically removed new cells cannot be repopulated in this area.

 

3.       Patient: “I want to have liposuction so I can eat as much as I want after surgery.”

 

Dr. S: WRONG.  Liposuction suction is for selected pockets of fat.  Even though you are getting liposuction you still need to diet and exercise to maintain. 

 

Good luck and I hope this was helpful!

Dr. S

Liposuction is one of the most common procedures in plastic surgery. Just like anything else, you have to prepare your body for the procedure with sensible diet and exercise, and be committed to continuing after. Theoretically, the fat cells are removed with liposuction, which can permanently change the fat distribution in the areas treated. Of course the remaining fat cells can get larger and this can lead to recurrence, but it has been shown that continuing with diet and exercise and commitment to taking care of your investment leads to long term satisfaction.
I hope this helps and good luck
Dr. Trussler

The fat cells that are removed with liposuction do not come back. If you gain weight over time, the remaining fat cells can enlarge however. The key to maintaining your result is eating a well-balanced diet and keeping with a small exercise routine, both of which will help prolong your lifestyle.

After clusters of lipocytes are removed via liposuction, they are gone and will not comeback. However, if one were to gain weight in the future, lipocytes that remain in the prior liposuctioned areas or elsewhere will be renourished and undergo hypertrophy. This is why women who had undergone liposuction in the abdomen tend to have increase in breast and hip sizes later if they were to regain weight. There is a cluster of fat underneath the abdominal muscle that is not accessible to traditional tumescent liposuction known as the omental fat, which can increase in volume and size even if the fat above the abdominal muscles get liposuctioned.