An Unexpected Result from Liposuction

People (mostly women) are usually pretty pleased with the immediate results of liposuction.  But there’s a snag.  It seems that fat lost by the procedure returns within a year, in another place, or places.  This is the outcome of a study reported in the journal Obesity Research.  

Thirty-two non-obese patients (i.e. their body mass index or BMI was below 30) were allocated to have liposuction and 18 others formed a no-liposuction control group.  Percentage body fat was measured at enrollment.  Other measurements, which were made at 6 weeks, 6 months, and one year after liposuction included dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA), abdominal/limb circumferences, subcutaneous skin-fold thickness, and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the torso and thighs.  In the surgical group, relatively small deposits of fatty tissue were removed from sites of disproportionate accumulation – lower abdomen, hips, or thighs.

After 1 year, the percentage body fat did not differ between the liposuction and control groups, and the fat had recurred at different sites in the body.  For instance, liposuction of thigh fat led, after one year, to accumulation of upper abdominal fat. In other cases, fat removal was followed a year later by fat deposition in the shoulders or triceps areas. 

Why didn’t the fat return to the places it was taken from?  One theory is that the procedure may destroy the net-like supporting structure under the skin where fat cells normally occur.

Will this finding stop women (and men) having liposuction?  Probably not – the urge to look better is strong, and fat under the diaphragm is easier to hide than fat on the thighs.