Dr. Nathan Miller is a board certified cosmetic surgeon and owner of the OKC Lipo in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Specializing in all forms of liposuction, Dr. Miller is a member of the American Academy of Cosmetic Surgeons, American Medical Association, Texas Medical Association, and a prospective member of the American College of Surgeons. Here, he explains a few little-known intricacies of liposuction procedures.
One of the commonly misunderstood things about liposuction has to do with fat cells and re-growth. What that means is that people often wonder, “If I get liposuction in one area, will the fat just come back?” I can say definitely the answer to that is no. But at the same time, the topic is also a little more complicated.
How it works is this: Every person is born with a certain number of fat cells, believe it or not. And that number never changes. So when people gain weight and get fat, they are never actually gaining fat cells in their body. Rather, the fat cells that they already have are simply getting bigger. And over time, you begin to look bigger due to the size increase of your fat cells.
So, for patients who are undergoing liposuction, if they come in saying that they have an area over their belly that is bothersome, then I will go in there and help them. I can go in and essentially melt and suck out that fat with one of the many new technologies we have available today. And what happens is that the fat that I have sucked out of that patient’s body is never going to grow back.
Here is the kicker, though. Liposuction can’t prevent you from gaining weight in other places in the future. So if you do gain weight after undergoing liposuction, that fat cell growth is going to happen in other areas of your body. Although there is no longer an ability to gain fat in your stomach, let’s say if you have undergone a liposuction in that area, you will gain the fat in other areas of your body. So that is one reason why patients who come in to get liposuction done still do need to control their own weight gain in the future.
This touches on the topic of weight loss, as well, since many patients come in to our office thinking that liposuction is somehow going to be a form of weight loss. While undergoing liposuction will inevitably lead to a loss of weight for a lot of my patients, that is not something I ever guarantee to anyone.
Liposuction is a body contouring procedure, not a weight loss procedure. So because of that fact, patients cannot rely on liposuction alone to be a miracle cure for their weight issues.
Instead, what I will do for patients is guarantee them that I will get as much fat out as possible in the area where they are having trouble, and I will do my best to get them the flat stomach, slimmed down hips, or thinner thighs that they have always wanted. Those are much more realistic and positive goals when undergoing a liposuction procedure than simply weight loss alone.
The information in the article is not intended to substitute for the medical expertise and advice of your healthcare provider. We encourage you to discuss any decisions about treatment or care with an appropriate healthcare provider.
