In modern society, where the vast majority of people are active on social media sites like Tik Tok and Instagram, image is everything. Whether it’s you posting selfies from your living room or your friends posting group photos on a night out, how you look to others is something that causes people to have issues with their own body confidence and ultimately, causes them to have issues with posting photos.
It’s no secret that achieving a fit and healthy body takes time and effort, but even with putting in the hours at the gym and eating a healthy diet it isn’t always possible to do without some form of medical intervention. One of the ways to effectively sculpt your body into what you desire is liposuction and it’s something that has been around and talked about for decades. But what exactly is liposuction and, realistically, how much weight can you expect to lose after undergoing surgery?
What is liposuction?
Liposuction is a form of cosmetic procedure that is primarily used to combat and fight stubborn fatty deposits on many areas of the body such as the stomach, hips, legs, bum and chest. During a liposuction surgery, the fat cells are permanently removed from the body which completely alters the shape of the body.
It’s carried out by using a thin tube called a cannula which is inserted into the skin through a number of tiny incisions in the skin. This is used to loosen the fat and give the area of the body that is being treated a nicer silhouette. The next step is to utilise a suction device to remove the fat cells from the body before the incisions in the skin are sewn up and are then left to be allowed to heal.
Liposuction surgery is also something that can be used to aid in the treatment of lipomas (non-cancerous tumours made up of fatty tissue) and also for gynaecomastia.
It is, however, incredibly important to note that liposuction is not actually considered a method of weight loss but is more something that is used to enhance the appearance of the body.
Does liposuction surgery result in weight loss?
Going off what we said above, liposuction isn’t considered as a method of weight loss as it can’t be used for drastic weight loss and fat removal (except for extreme scenarios). That doesn’t mean though, that it can’t help with losing weight and improving the shape of your body.
Generally, you can expect to be losing anywhere between 1 and 10 pounds of fat during a liposuction surgery, but this is entirely dependent on your body and the results that you are trying to achieve. Larger volumes of fat can be removed (which in turn means that larger amounts of weight can be removed), but this comes with an increased risk of complications so the vast majority of surgeons will limit the amount that they will remove to avoid risks to the patient.
Realistically, the goals of a liposuction surgery should be to make significant improvements to the figure of the body in concentrated areas, as opposed to dramatic reduction in weight. It’s mostly designed to improve the appearance of the body and to give you a more natural body shape.
How long does it take before results are noticeable?
Liposuction results tend to start to show between one and three months after the surgery has been carried out. Immediately following liposuction surgery, it’s fairly common for patients to experience swelling and bruising on the area which will make it difficult to see any results. Once the swelling subsides, usually within a few weeks, the results start to become visible with up to 90% of the final results being seen within four weeks.
Can a patient regain weight after undergoing liposuction?
Liposuction is used to permanently remove fat cells from the body and once these are gone, they will not return. The problem with gaining weight after surgery is that the fat will build up in other areas which can result in the body looking disproportionate and out of shape. It’s really important to maintain a lifestyle that is as active and healthy as possible after surgery to maintain the results.
So there it is, whilst you can lose some weight with liposuction, it isn’t recommended as form of weight loss and we would always recommend a healthy diet and active lifestyle to do this. If they won’t help, then liposuction is an incredible option to improve the appearance of the body.