What if I Lose Weight After Chin Lipo?

It’s not unusual for patients to lose weight
following neck liposuction. When weight loss is minimal to moderate, the
surgical results of neck liposuction are rarely affected. When patients
experience massive weight loss following neck liposuction, dramatic changes can
occur in the neck region. These may include a hollowing of the central neck and
the development of loose saggy skin.

It’s important to understand that no two patients
are alike and for this reason, treatment needs to be individualized. In the
vast majority of cases we prefer that patients are within 10-15% of their ideal
body weight.

Unfortunately, this isn’t always possible and some
patients proceed with neck liposuction before they’ve reached this goal. Under these circumstances, subsequent weight loss can
cause secondary problems which may require revisional surgery.

It’s safe to say that the majority of neck
liposuction patients aren’t affected by normal fluctuations in weight. When
patients undergo massive weight loss, all bets are off and secondary surgery
may be occasionally necessary. Under these circumstances, consultation with a board-certified
plastic surgeon is appropriate. 

Thank you for your question.  You may find with small degrees of weight fluctuation (e.g 5 lbs), your chin liposuction results do not change much.  With larger degrees of weight fluctuation (e.g 20 lbs), your results will likely change.  You still have fat underneath the platysmal muscle.  If this reduces considerably with weight loss, then you may find you start to develop a hollowness under your chin.  Likewise, you may find that with large weight gain, that your fullness is returning.  As with other body parts, the stability of the result does follow weight changes.

Generally speaking, significant or major weight loss results in laxity of the skin or sagging of the skin as the fat beneath the skin is lost.

Thus if a patient is overweight, Plastic Surgeons usually recommend weight loss to near normal weight before doing liposuction.

If you are not significantly overweight now, then 5 or 10 pounds of weight loss will not likely cause much of a change in skin tone after liposuction.

However it is best to be able to keep your weight stable after liposuction.

Newer Laser Assisted Liposuction techniques such as Slim Lipo have the added benefit of producing skin tightening as well as fat removal. These techniques are particularly good for the chin and neck area (see pics in reference below.)

This additional skin tightening during the course of chin liposuction might offer some added protection against skin laxity if you lose weight after chin or sub mental neck liposuction.