Losing Weight After Liposuction

Thank you for your question. While there are definitely concerns with respect to weight changes and liposuction there are several considerations:1) Are you goals for the surgery achievable with liposuction? E.g. Liposuction is not a weight loss procedure, even though you will lose a few pounds. It is more to contour areas of the body.2) Is your weight stable? i.e. does it fluctuate upwards or downwards more than 10lbs? Weight gain after liposuction will diminish your body contouring results as the remaining fat cells enlarge to store more energy. In addition, you may that other parts of the body that were not liposuctioned may enlarge disproportionately compared to pre-liposuction weight gain. If your weight is stable, your results will also be stable.Conversely, if you lose a lot of weight after liposuction, you may find the skin laxity appears to have worsened.  In addition, some contour irregularities that were previously masked with your previous weight starts to shadow through with weight loss.3) There are increase risks with liposuction if your BMI is greater than 30. I would recommend that you visit with a board certified plastic surgeon who can work with you to discuss your goals and discuss whether liposuction is the right procedure for you. In our practice, we offer a pre-surgical and post-surgical weight management program to balance our patient's weight and body contouring goals.

Thank you for your question.Weight loss following a liposuction procedure should not cause significant laxity of the skin, assuming that you were an ideal liposuction candidate to begin with.  Ideal candidates are those patients who are close to, or at, an ideal body weight and who are aiming to target localized, stubborn fatty deposits/pockets that have been resistant to diet and exercise regimens in the past.  Liposuction is not a weight loss procedure and it is important that patients do not regard it as such. I hope you find this helpful.

Weight loss after liposuction won't make you "flabby". You'll experience a weight loss that's proportionate, so you'll remain leaner. However, significant weight loss may cause loose skin if done too quickly.

The ideal candidate for liposuction is one that doesn't need to lose weight, but needs to lose volume in a stubborn area, often genetically based.  If someone is overweight, and then has liposuction and then loses weight, the skin may retract well if it has good elasticity, but depending on age and amount stretched out, over time, it could sag too much.

It is best to be at a stable weight before undergoing any surgery.

Liposuction removes fat from under the skin.  So if more weight is lost, the balance is more in favor of sagging skin.  An experienced board certified plastic surgeon can guide you through that decision making tree.

I usually advise patients to be as healthy as possible, and not maintain extra weight on their bodies (stressing their heart, pancreas, etc) just to avoid looseness of the skin.