Liposuction is a common aesthetic procedure. We are all born with deposits of fat that are much more difficult to get rid of than in other areas of our body. Women athletes are quite a disciplined group of individuals who inspire me. Women athletes not only have very busy careers, but also seem to find time to raise a family and still balance enough time to go to the gym, run, or spin class on a consistent basis. Despite strict adherence to diet and exercise it is quite common for localized deposits of fat to exist on the lower back and flanks. These are recalcitrant areas of fat that are challenging to get rid of. Liposuction of these areas on the lower back, bra fat, flanks, and abdomen are what we call in our practice-circumferential liposuction. This is an extremely powerful tool to help loose inches and lose weight. It allows your body to reach a new weight setpoint and help you feel leaner. I tell our patients in consultation that after adolescence, our bodies do not make any new fat cells and we do not lose any fat cells, but the cells we have can get bigger or smaller depending upon calorie in and calorie out. When patients undergo liposuction the fat cells are removed from the body and these cells do not come back. The remaining fat cells after liposuction can get bigger or smaller depending upon calorie in/calorie out and your body’s metabolism which is partly determined by the amount of muscle on your body.
There are additional surgical procedures that we can do to either help you lose weight or help to give you the appearance that you have lost weight. Exchanging breast implants or mammary prosthesis for smaller implants is an effective way to make your body appear leaner. Large volume reductions in implants will have a small decrease in your weight. Small decreases in volume of implants will have almost no effect on your overall weight, but can give you the appearance of being significantly lighter.
