Beauty Doc Blog

Liposuction is used to reduce and shape areas where there are zones of fat concentration.  Cores of fat are removed through hollow tubes called cannulas attached to a suction device to achieve the desired shape.  Liposuction is not a way to lose weight and is not a substitute for proper diet and exercise.

There are basic scientific concepts about fat metabolism and how it relates to successful liposuction surgeries.  Dr. Grossman has simplified these concepts to make it easier to understand how liposuction reshapes a body.

First of all, everyone is born with a “fixed” number of fat cells and our bodies do not make new fat cells over the course of our lifetime.  When people gain weight, the fat cells increase in size and when they lose weight, the fat cells shrink.  Everyone has a unique pattern in how their fat cells expand and shrink.  For example, some people wind up putting most of their weight on in their abdomen and hips while others may gain weight in their buttocks and thighs.

Liposuction can be directed at such targeted areas.  Collections of fat cells gathered in a particular area can make certain parts of the body look unattractive.  When these fat cells are reduced and reshaped, the new shape is permanent.  Fat does not grow back but that does not mean that patients will not gain weight after a liposuction procedure.  While the areas where liposuction was performed will maintain their shape, fatty deposits may begin to expand in other parts of the body.  Thus, patients who gain weight after liposuction may find it in places it never existed before.  Patients who want to maintain the best results from liposuction will have a healthy lifestyle that includes a well-balanced diet and a regular exercise program.

Maintenance of liposuction is also related to the individual person’s RMR (resting metabolic rate) or BMR (basal metabolic rate), which is the number of calories required to maintain body functions at rest without doing any exercise.  Smoking cigarettes increases a person’s metabolism by approximately 15 percent so often people gain weight after they quit smoking.  Fat cell, metabolism, weight gain and loss and maintenance all play a part in how well a person looks after liposuction.

Liposuction removes fat which results in a weight loss.  A cubic centimeter of fat weight about 1 gram, with 453 grams equal to 1 pound.  The ultimate goal is to shape and contour the body for a significant change in appearance.  Patients who understand the metabolism of fat will successfully achieve their goals with liposuction.