If 6 liters of fat is removed, how many lbs of weight is that?

You need to know how much of the 6 liters is fat and how much is fluid that the surgeon injected.  Surgeons inject different volumes of fluid, some more ("tumescent"), some less ("superwet").  If your surgeon injects large amounts it is likely that the volume removed will also contain a lot of fluid.   This makes the volume higher than if you are just measuring fat.  I use the superwet technique.  Only about 10% of the volume removed is fluid; the rest is all fat.  One liter of fat weighs about 2 pounds.  This means that you had about 12 pounds of fat removed (or less if there was a lot of fluid).  That is a large amount of fat.  It's not like just dropping your weight 12 pounds because this is subcutaneous fat in specific body areas.  So it will probably look like you lost more than 12 pounds, once the swelling subsides.  I included a link to this part of my website so you can look at results in patients with similar liposuction volumes.

Six liters of fat will probably weigh between two to three pounds. However, when considering liposuction, you should think about shape and inches rather than pounds. Liposuction is not a weight-loss method. It is for removing stubborn fat that's resistant to diet and exercise. It is done to improve your shape and give you a more sculpted look. Please consult a board-certified dermatologist to find out if you are a candidate for liposuction or for a noninvasive fat-removal technique, such as CoolSculpting, Vanquish or Thermi.

The aspirate removed during
liposuction consists of both fat and fluid. Initially it is mixed together. If
the aspirate is allowed to settle, it will separate into a fluid layer on the
bottom, and a fat layer on the top. The fluid layer consists mostly of some
portion of the wetting solution (saline i.v. fluid, lidocaine, and epinephrine)
that was injected, as well as a small amount of blood. The amount of fluid in
the aspirate may depend upon how much wetting solution was injected at the
beginning of the procedure. The more wetting solution injected, the more fluid
will likely be aspirated along with the fat. For me personally, I find that
about 10 to15% of the total volume of aspirate is fluid, and the rest is
aspirated fat.



What
ultimately matters is how much fat is removed. If your surgeon has communicated
the “total aspirate” as 6 L, then less than 6 L of fat has been removed. You
would need to know how much fluid was removed so you could calculate how much
fat was in the aspirate. If your surgeon was referring only to “aspirated fat”,
then it truly is 6 L.



The weight
of 6 L of pure fat aspirate, is --

The density of fat is 0.918 gm/cm3 (slightly less
than the density of water 1 gr/ cm3)

1 cm3
= 1 cc = 1 mL

6 L fat =
6000 cc fat

6000 cc
fat x
0.9 gm/cc = 5400 gr fat

5400 gr fat
= 5.4 kg fat

1 kg =
2.20462 pounds

5.4 kg
fat x
2.2 pounds/kg = 11.9 pounds



Liposuction
is a body contouring operation and not a weight loss operation. Although
patients always want to know how much fat was removed, and how much that fat
weighs, patients do not usually experience large changes in body weight
following liposuction.



Best
wishes.

1 liter of water is 2.2 pounds.  The calculation is different with fat... however, it also depends on how much tumescent fluid was also removed during the procedure.  So I generally average and tell my patients each liter is about 2 pounds of fat.  So, 6 liters of fat is probably around 12 pounds.  That is quite a lot!  

HiThanks for your question. I must first point out that Liposuction is not a weight loss modality, rather a fat removal technique for stubborn areas.The thickness of the lipoaspirate removed in liposuction depends on how much tumescent fluid is injected. Generally a liter of fat would weigh about 2 pounds. However, the removed fat is replaced initially with tissue swelling so any loss in weight takes weeks to months to materialize as this swelling resolves. You mentioned 6 liters of fat - please note that the ASPS recommends removal of no more than 5 liters in an out-patient setting as more than this is not safe.Pls see a board-certified PS for an in-person evaluation to see if liposuction is right for you. I have included a link with more information on Liposuction.I hope this helps.....