We speak with many patients who are interested in liposuction for weight loss. And it makes sense, doesn’t it? You may have a bit of extra fat hanging around your belly, arms, and legs. So, why not get liposuction to get rid of it?
Unfortunately, it’s not quite as simple as that.
Is Liposuction Good for Weight Loss?
The bottom line is: Liposuction was never intended as a weight loss procedure. Instead, it is a body contouring procedure and can help you achieve a smoother body shape. This means that it’s most effective for patients who are at a healthy weight but who have a bit of excess fat in certain areas that they would like to get rid of.
For example, let’s say you recently had a baby. Perhaps you didn’t gain too much weight during your pregnancy, but you still have a bit of a “pouch” on your lower abdomen and some excess fat on your flanks (“love handles”). If this is the case, liposuction can be a wonderful procedure for you. It can eliminate these isolated areas of excess fat to give you the contours you desire.
On the other hand, let’s say a woman went through pregnancy and gained 70 lbs. in overall body weight. If this woman wanted liposuction to remove all of that excess fat and bring her back to her pre-baby body, this would not only be impossible, but it wouldn’t actually achieve the results she’s after.
It’s not possible for a liposuction procedure to get rid of 70 lbs. of fat. Moreover, the type of fat that liposuction can remove is called subcutaneous fat. It sits right below the top layers of skin.
But if you have 70 lbs. of excess fat on your body, chances are you also have visceral fat, which is deeper and collects around your organs. Liposuction is not able to get rid of this type of fat. Instead, you must lose weight via natural means (diet and exercise) or with surgery or prescription injections (like Wegovy or Ozempic).
What Liposuction Can Do
As a surgical procedure, liposuction is excellent at removing small to modest amounts of unwanted fat from places like the flanks, stomach, upper arms, thighs, buttocks, and inner knees. Liposuction surgery can even remove fat from the chin and neck area. In fact, lipo is best for “stubborn fat” — fat that just never seems to come off even with intense dieting and exercise.
It can also be helpful when it comes to contouring the body — for example, removing just the right amount of fat from the midsection to create an attractive waist to hip ratio. Brazilian butt lifts and breast fat transfer augmentation procedures both use liposuction to remove excess fat from trouble areas before the same fat is processed and reinjected into the target locations (the buttocks/hips and the breasts, respectively).
What Liposuction Can’t Do
Liposuction is not for significant weight loss or fat removal. If you are overweight or obese, this doesn’t always mean you can’t undergo liposuction. But you may not achieve the results you desire. That is, some body fat will be reduced, but the remaining fat cells will only get bigger over time if your diet and exercise routine is left unchecked.
If you have numerous unwanted fat deposits of significant size, you may need to consider losing weight in another way before coming to liposuction for some “touch ups” of the stubborn fat.
If Liposuction Won’t Work, What Will?
Eating in a caloric deficit via a healthy diet and exercising are the best ways to lose weight in most cases. But if you have trouble losing weight in these ways, there are other options such as Ozempic and Wegovy or weight loss surgery as well.
Liposuction vs Ozempic
Drugs like Ozempic were originally formulated to help type 2 diabetics. But in recent years, doctors have found that these drugs can also help patients lose weight — even when they’re not diabetic. Some even call them liposuction injections for weight loss because the drugs are delivered via self-injection.
If you’re deciding between using Ozempic or getting liposuction to get rid of excess fat, there are many considerations to think about. First, it depends on how much fat you aim to lose and from where. It’s also important to consider that Ozempic and similar drugs are new, so their side effects and any unintended outcomes have not been extensively studied.
Liposuction vs Weight Loss Surgery
Before drugs like Ozempic, more rapid and surefire weight loss was typically achieved with weight loss surgery. Gastric bypass surgery or a sleeve gastrectomy can help patients lose fat and achieve a normal weight in a faster timeframe than typical dieting can. Of course, this is still major surgery and comes with risks.
Furthermore, if the reasons you gained weight were for emotional eating and similar, you will need to tackle this in tandem with your surgery. Otherwise, you could end up back where you started even after significant weight loss. Finally, many patients struggle with loose skin and poor skin quality after rapid weight loss with surgery and may need a tummy tuck in addition to liposuction to get rid of stubborn fat deposits.
FAQ:
What types of liposuction are there?
There are numerous types of liposuction procedures available, including traditional liposuction, tumescent liposuction, laser assisted liposuction, VASER liposuction, and more.
How long do liposuction results last?
Results from liposuction can last indefinitely. The fat cells that are removed are removed permanently. But this doesn’t mean you can’t gain weight in the future. It will simply accumulate elsewhere in most cases.
How much weight do I need to lose before I can get liposuction?
This depends on your goal weight, the ideal weight for your body and maintaining a healthy lifestyle, and what you hope you achieve with liposuction.
If you are hoping to get liposuction but know you have weight to lose, decide: “How much weight can you lose in the next few months?” Then schedule a consultation with a board certified plastic surgeon to discuss your plastic surgery options.
Call to Schedule a Consultation with Dr. Mason
Liposuction can help patients reduce fat cells and achieve outstanding results — including if you have a modest to medium amount of fat to lose. Just take a look at liposuction before and after photos to see examples.
If you have more fat to lose, you may need to incorporate your own weight loss solution before getting liposuction. Find out if you’re a good candidate today by contacting our office and scheduling a consultation appointment with board certified plastic surgeon Dr. Rachel Mason.