Almost everyone has unwanted fat someplace, and they’d almost all like to have it removed. Fortunately, there’s a procedure that can do just that. Liposuction surgery is extremely popular, and patients are constantly asking me about its risks and benefits. Based on these conversations, it’s become clear to me that there are countless myths floating around about liposuction. It’s understandable—misconceptions spread around easily, and plastic surgery is a mystery to many people. Unfortunately, some people are skeptical about procedures like liposuction because of these widespread myths. Check out my video below to learn about the top five liposuction myths and find out the truth about each of them.
In the video above, I offer a brief explanation of five key myths:
Myth: If I have liposuction, the fat will just go to other areas of my body.
Fact: During liposuction surgery, we remove fat cells from the body, and your body will not create new fat cells to compensate. This plastic surgery myth may be rooted in a misunderstood fact about liposuction: after liposuction, you will have more fat cells in the untreated areas of your body than in the treated areas. However, fat cells we remove with liposuction will not regenerate in other areas of the body.
Myth: Laser liposuction is better than anything else.
Fact: Laser liposuction has advantages and disadvantages, as does any liposuction method. There’s no proof that any of the assisted technologies are better than conventional liposuction. However, don’t choose your surgeon based on the technology they use. Your results will depend far more on the surgeon’s skill and expertise than on the tools they use. If the doctor performing the procedure isn’t skilled and experienced, your results will reflect that fact—no matter what type of fat reduction procedure you’re undergoing.
Myth: I can eat whatever I want after liposuction without gaining weight!
Fact: Unfortunately, this isn’t true. After your liposuction procedure, you’ll need to maintain your “post-lipo weight” if you want to keep your results. While you will have fewer fat cells, the remaining fat cells can still become larger if you gain weight. Even if liposuction could permanently prevent you from gaining weight, the nutritional value of what you put in your body would continue to matter.
Myth: My skin will hang after liposuction.
Fact: The skin has elastic properties within it, and those properties allow for some degree of recoil. For most patients, their skin will conform to their slimmer contours after liposuction. People only tend to develop noticeable sagging skin if they lose a large amount of fat – more than can be removed with liposuction. However, it varies somewhat from patient to patient, and your surgeon can only estimate how your skin’s appearance will respond to liposuction by examining you personally.
Myth: I want to have every fat cell possible taken out of my body.
Fact: Not only is this unsafe, but it also won’t give you the cosmetic result you want. Losing all the fat in your body would create lumps, irregularities, divots, and other issues no patient wants. A small amount of body fat fills out and contours the human frame, and you want to keep some of that around for health and aesthetic reasons.
In the end, the best piece of advice I can give is to choose your plastic surgeon wisely. Make sure you’re using a board-certified plastic surgeon who has skill, experience, and artistic vision. If you’d like to learn more about what plastic surgery can do for you, contact me, Dr. James Namnoum, to schedule a consultation today. You can also learn about the other cosmetic and reconstructive plastic surgery procedures I preform by following me on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Google+, or by checking out my website for the latest plastic surgery news and updates.
