Torso lipo and gaining belly fat with menopause. Any suggestions?

Your question is a common one regarding liposuction. Although fat is removed from the are of liposuction, it is still possible to gain weight in the same area. Unfortunately during menopause, women do tend to gain weight and therefore inches in the torso and flanks. If you have liposuction of the abdomen, weight gain may be proportionately less there and more in other areas, but of course that depends on the amount of weight gained. There is not a guarantee that you will not end up with a "muffin top." The key to keeping from gaining abdominal fat is to maintain a healthy diet. Diet is 80% of weight control even with exercise, and this is even more important during menopause or for post-menopausal women. I hope this answers your question.

I'm not aware of any permanent effects that menopause can have on cosmetic surgery results.  As long as you follow a healthy diet and exercise you should maintain the results for a long time.

Liposuction results should be permanent if you maintain proper diet and exercise and do a hi definition procedure.I suggest seeing an expert and posting photos. There is no way to know if you are good candidate or not for liposuction alone, or if you need weight loss or another procedure like a hi definition contouring procedure with skin removal. Best, Dr. Emer.

Hello dear, thanks for your question and provided
information as well.. This is the surgical
procedure that revolutionized cosmetic surgery becoming one of the most
performed cosmetic procedures. Subcutaneous tissue or fat is removed in order
to contour the body in a way that is harmonious and pleasing to the senses. It
can be performed in almost all regions of the body such as the neck, chin,
abdomen, back, buttocks, thighs, arms and ankles. Usually done through a small
incision in the skin through which a cannula connected to a vacuum is applied,
it can be performed alone or in combination with other procedures. After
liposuction your body is going to be really swollen for at least 2 to 4 months
after your surgery. It is important for you to wear your compression garment
for at least 6 months, the first 3 months 24/7 and then the last 3 months at
least 12 hours per day for your body get use to not having the faja for so many
time. When you remove it, your body can get swollen and also you can have pain.
Remember to also compress your body to prevent a seroma which is an
accumulation of liquid that has to be drained, it is hard to touch and also
really painful. Bruises are completely normal for almost 3 months from surgery,
that’s why is better for you to use a bruising cream and apply it all over your
body 3 times a day. To prevent bad circulation and swollen legs, use
compression socks. Brazilian butt lift can be performed with the same procedure
and for a month it will be swollen and it will drop a little bit without losing
it’s shape if you use your garment.. If you’re going to perform liposuction on
your inner, outer, anterior, lateral, postetior thighs, be careful and consult
with your surgeon what’s best for you, sometimes we have more extra skin than
fat, that can cause severe sagginess on our legs, which can be only be reversed
performing a thigh lift.

Thank you for that often asked
question. Obviously, with any procedure you can gain weight back wherever you
have fat cells if you eat more calories than your body can burn. With that
being said I generally see that my liposuction patients are by far the happiest
and the most motivated to not only continue to lose weight after their
procedures but to keep it off. The liposuction takes away the bulges and excess
fat cells in the area, however some fat cells have to be left or you would be
skin and bone. If you gain a significant amount of weight you may seem to think
that you are gaining it in other areas (I am sure you have heard people say
that they had liposuction in one area and that the fat moved to another area).
This is not true only fat is removed during liposuction, and no fat is added or
distributed anywhere else. If you gain enough weight you may see bigger bulges
in the areas that weren't liposuctioned as they now have more fat cells than
the areas where fat cells were reduced (liposuctioned). Some people will gain
enough weight after the procedure by over eating that the fat cells that are
left in the liposuctioned area(s) can increase in size and the liposuctioned
area, even though it has less fat cells and bulges, may return to the size or
larger than before the procedure. This motivates patients to stay in shape and
love the new contours of their bodies. Of course each person is individually
motivated and will experience varying results over the years after their
procedures. But having a personable Plastic Surgeon and Staff to follow up with
you over the years is also helpful.

You will get the best answer to
your question by scheduling an in person consultation with a plastic surgeon
certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery and discuss your unique
situation and concerns. The surgeon would meet with you, examine you,
physically feeling the tissue, assessing your desired outcome, taking a full
medical history, and discussing the pros and cons of each operative procedure
in person and what to realistically expect. Then you can make an informed
decision on which procedure(s) to start with according to your desires,
recovery time necessary, your history and current health. From your photo, it
looks like you are sitting and that is not an adequate way to measure the fat
and skin elasticity. Liposuction works best on areas where the person is close
to their stable weight and in younger patients usually the skin elasticity
makes for good results.
Be careful when choosing a Surgeon it is most important is to pick a Board
Certified Plastic Surgeon - Certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery.
It can be hard and confusing for consumers when a physician may tell you they
are Board Certified. Make sure it is Board Certified in Plastic Surgery as many
Physicians are certified but it is in another area such as Dermatology,
Gynecology, ENT, or some other specialty that does not have the years of
training and often no surgery training . Find a Surgeon Board Certified in
Plastic Surgeon.
Rather than finding a non-certified surgeon that may give you better pricing it
can be helpful to find a newer Board Certified Plastic Surgeon that has years
of experience in training and surgery-required to become Board Certified in
Plastic Surgery but is newer in practice. They have the latest up to date
training and highest standards as currently set by the newest technology and
are often able to pass on to the consumer much better pricing. The newer
Certified Plastic Surgeons give special pricing which most will pass on
to you, the consumer. Check for special pricing here on RealSelf and free
consultations and make sure the surgeon is a Board Certified Plastic Surgeon
and you may find the perfect Plastic Surgeon for you who is able to work with
your budget without cutting corners!.

Liposuction is the permanent removal of fat cells.  We are all born with a finite number of fat cell, when we gain and lose weight the fat cells fluctuate in size, getting bigger or smaller.  Liposuction only contours the fat in the area treated, it does not remove all the fat, so if you gain weight, the fat cells in the treated area will still increase in size.  The difference being that since the area has been contoured, the proportion with the rest of the body will stay the same.  You will not gain more fat in other areas of the body, this is a wive's tale.