Liposuction: Info, Prices, Photos, Reviews, Q&A

When fat cells are removed by liposuction they are PERMANENTLY removed. They never come back.

However, the fat cells that remain can enlarge several times their size if you don’t practice good diet and exercise habits.

If your weight has been stable for quite a while, then continue your same habits and you should be able to maintain your liposuction results indefinitely. (Richard H. Fryer, MD, Salt Lake City Plastic Surgeon)

Liposuction results are permanent. Liposuctioning is a contouring procedure. Although you should see significant improvements in the areas that were treated after all your swelling resolves, Liposuction is not a substition for healthy living.

In other words, even after liposuction, an unhealthy diet and lack of exercise (ie weight gain), will likely deteriorate/diminish your results. (C. Bob Basu, MD, FACS, Houston Plastic Surgeon)

Liposuction longevity

Liposuction is a great procedure to remove unwanted pockets of fat. It is always better to be closer to your goal weight before doing the procedure. If you maintain your weight, the results will last. (Steven Wallach, MD, New York Plastic Surgeon)

Fat cells that are removed do not come back. When you gain and lose weight your fat cells increase and decrease in size. The ideal patient is one who eats healthy and exercises regularly but has areas they cannot improve.

Liposuction can address those areas very successfully and then if you continue your routine you maintain or better the result. (Roger J. Friedman, MD, Bethesda Plastic Surgeon)

Liposuction results are permanent.

After the teen years, we don’t make any new fat cells. When you gain weight, the same number of fat cells get bigger. So the fat calls removed with liposuction do not come back, and the improvement in shape is really long lasting. (George J. Beraka, MD (retired), Manhattan Plastic Surgeon)

Liposuction is long-lasting

Liposuction removes fat cells. Adults have a finite number of fat cells and once they are removed, they will not grow back. Having said that, the remaining fat cells can enlarge if you gain weight, and the benefits of the procedure will be lost.

If you maintain a healthy lifestyle and a steady weight, you should be able to enjoy the results of the liposuction for a lifetime. (Jeffrey Horowitz, MD, Bel Air Plastic Surgeon)

Results last if you maintain your weight

Liposuction does not take the place of a good diet and exercise. If you maintain your weight, the results will last. If your weight fluctuates, the result will change at least to an extent. (John P. Di Saia, MD, Orange Plastic Surgeon)
Liposuction results will last if you maintain weight

Liposuction will help you get rid of unwanted fat collections. The results will last as long as you keep a good diet and exercise regimen. And will continue to even improve your results If you gain lage amount of weight then you can gain some of the fat in the liposuctioned areas. (Samir Shureih, MD, Baltimore Plastic Surgeon)

Liposuction can be permanent solution to excess fat

The ideal patient for liposuction is at or near ideal body weight and has areas of localized fat which are resistant to diet and exercise. However, to be realistic, not all patients need to fit in this category.

As long as you are within 10 pounds of your ideal weight, have normal skin tone and localized collection of fat deposits, liposuction can be performed. If liposuction is performed correctly, approximately 85% of fat cells are permanently removed from the area treated.
Therefore, if one maintains their weight, the fat should not return in that area. However, if the patient gains weight, the fat cells remaining may potentially enlarge. Regarding the cost, depending on the patient and the area, certain cases can be performed in the office with local anesthesia, thus reducing it. (Michael A. Jazayeri, MD, Santa Ana Plastic Surgeon)

Liposuction lasts as long as you want it to last

The removal of fat cells by liposuction is permanent. You’ll never get back those fat cells. BUT each of the remaining fat cells has the ability to expand if you gain weight. You’ll see gained weight in other body areas first, but if you keep gaining weight, you’ll eventually see it in your treatment area as well.
The key to making liposuction results lasts is all up to you: maintain your diet and exercise regimen, and you should be fine. (Carmen Kavali, MD, Atlanta Plastic Surgeon)

Liposuction results last if you maintain your weight

Liposuction results will be permanent as long as you are able to maintain your weight. Once the fat cells are removed or decreased in a certain area (which is what liposuction does), those fat cells will only increase in size if you gain weight.

Your shape can be altered if you gain a moderate amount of weight, as the areas of your body that did not undergoe liposuction may, by comparison, may seem larger. Liposuction is a great procedure if used on the appropriate person and if that person maintains their body weight with proper diet and exercise. (William Bruno, MD, Beverly Hills Plastic Surgeon)
Liposuction areas on the body normally last. Fat cells in the body are reduced in the area that has been liposuctioned and they do not return. If you gain weight the fat cells will find other areas of your body and appear.

Maintaining your diet and exercising helps keep your body in shape. (John Ward, MD (retired), Phoenix Plastic Surgeon)

There are a certain number of adipocytes or fat cells which enlarge with weight gain. Only with morbid obesity will the number of these fat cells increase. Patients gain weight by the increase in the size of the adipocyte and not the number.

By decreasing the number of fat cells with liposuction, it will be more difficult to put on weight in the area which as been liposuctioned. However, it is still possible to gain weight after liposuction so the final result will be best if you can diet and exercise to maintain your results.
If you follow a proper diet and exercise program, the results of liposuction should be permanent. (John L. Burns Jr., MD, Dallas Plastic Surgeon)

Yes, Liposuction works

I tell all of my liposuction patients that they need to use the scale as their guide after surgery. If you gain weight after surgery it is because you are not makng the necessary modifications to your lifestyle to maintain the result, not because of the liposuction procedure.

It is true that it is harder to gain weight in the area that was treated. BUT, the fat can go elsewhere on your body and obviously this is undesirable. Bottomline: Maintain a stable weight after your liposuction procedure and you should have no problems.

Use the scale as your guide and maintain a healthy lifestyle with diet and exercise.
Most important: The result you get from your procedure, is affected most by who is performing it, not the machine that has been massively marketed and not yet proven.

In addition, I would never expect you come to me requesting dental work or treatment for your high blood pressure. The same reasoning is true for liposuction and cosmetic surgery!. (Sam M. Sukkar, MD, Houston Plastic Surgeon)

Liposuction results should be permanent

Liposuction results are permanent. It is generally agreed that the number of lipocytes in adult life is fixed in number. When they are removed by liposuction, they are not replaced. The remaining fat cells can get bigger, and it is possible that with massive weight gain there might be division into new fat cells, but anyone gaining weight like this is not really a candidate for liposuction.
If you remain at a stable weight, the results are permanent. (Vincent N. Zubowicz, MD, Atlanta Plastic Surgeon)

Liposuction results last, provided you maintain a healthy lifestyle. Having liposuction does not mean that you will never gain weight. It does mean, however, that if you engage in regular exercise and maintain a healthy diet, the results you obtain from liposuction will last forever. (Sam Jejurikar, MD, Dallas Plastic Surgeon)

Once the fat is removed it is gone forever. However, if you gain a significant amount of weight, the remaining cells can enlarge and you can get fullness back.

In extreme weight gain your body can even produce new fat cells! Remember, having liposuction is partnership: you have to commit to lifestyle changes, diet, and exercise to maximize your results even if you have surgery. (Jeffrey Kenkel, MD, Dallas Plastic Surgeon)

Maintanence after liposuction

Liposuction does involve removing adipose tissue or fat in the isolated areas. However, it does not mean that it will never come back if you do not maintain a healthy lifestyle and diet. Liposuction does not allow you to eat whatever you want.

With this said though, you do see a dramatic result and change after having the procedure done and it will give you a long-lasting result as long as you maintain. (Tom J. Pousti, MD, FACS, San Diego Plastic Surgeon)

It really depends on the patient and how compliant they will be after the surgery. By complaint I mean as far as continuing a healthy diet and exercise program. If you happen to gain weight, yes you can gain in the areas that had liposuction as well as other areas. (Farbod Esmailian, MD, Orange County Plastic Surgeon)

Liposuction results can last

Fat is a storage room for unused food calories. As long as your body burns all the calories it eats – you will NEVER gain weight = your fat cells will remain empty and collapsed.

The moment you eat more in calories than you burn – the excess calories are converted into fat and begin filling our fat cell. Liposuction is used to sculpt and contour areas of fat in our body.

It is not used for weight loss NOR is it a technique which is meant to allow you to eat without the obvious weight-gain consequences. The maximum amount of fat that can be safely removed in one operation is around 11 pounds – not a great amount.

But – once certain fat cells are removed they are gone. This does not mean that ALL the fat cells are gone. Some fat cells are left behind to give the body the smooth, beautiful curves it normally has.

If instead of beginning or resuming a healthy regimen of eating and exercise you decide to over-eat, this remaining fat will fill up and the results of your liposuction will be largely gone. (Peter A. Aldea, MD, Memphis Plastic Surgeon)

Liposuction is a body contouring procedure and has long term results. It is not a substitute for weight loss. Despite diet and exercise, problem areas persist. Some of the most common areas are the “saddle bags” of the outer thighs, hips, abdomen and inner thighs.

Liposuction can reduce these areas to create a smoother contour. When the fat cells are removed form an area, they do not regenerate. This area then has fewer fat cells and less volume which recontours the areas of treatment.

Some fat cells remain, and if someone were to consume an unreasonable amount of calories, the residual fat cells could enlarge. But with a healthy diet and exercise, the areas of liposuction tend to be more “resistant” to weight gain than they were before the surgery. (James H. Schmidt, MD (retired), Sarasota Plastic Surgeon)

Weight gain after liposuction

Liposuction is permanent if you maintain your body weight but if you gain weight you will continue to produce fat regardless of the amount removed. As you initially gain weight you will put it on in areas that were not liposuctioned.

IF you gain sufficient weight, the fat will accumulate everywhere. (Otto Joseph Placik, MD, Chicago Plastic Surgeon)

Once you remove the fat from an area, it is important for you to continue to maintain a healthy lifestyle — good eating, exercise, and watching your total caloric intake. We can obtain the results, but only you can maintain the reults.

If you gain weight, it usually will be in other areas of your body. (Richard Greco, MD, Savannah Plastic Surgeon)

Fat removed by liposuction is gone forever. Assuming you maintain a healthy lifestyle and do not gain a lot of weight, the results are long lasting. (Edmond A. Zingaro, MD, San Francisco Plastic Surgeon)