QUESTION:
If I have liposuction to one body area will the fat go to other areas?
If liposuction is done appropriately to a body area that is disproportionately large compared to the rest of the patient then the short answer is no. Liposuction can completely remove excess fat cell from specific body areas. The ideal candidate is generally healthy and not excessively heavy but has a couple of body areas that are simply out of sync with the rest of their body. The genesis of this is too many fat cells in that area – a disproportion that likely developed in their teen years. As we gain weight, every fat cell expands so if there is an area where there are too many fat cells then that area will take the brunt of the weight gain. Eliminating fat cells with liposuction from those problem areas can keep you from gaining too much weight and therefore you will look proportionate throughout your entire body.
We can see problems when liposuction is done on a patient who is globally heavy but well proportioned. If fat cells are eliminated from several body areas and the patient gains weight the remaining fat cells will all expand and can result in some odd shapes. When we see this type of patient (which we see asking for liposuction all the time) the better advice is to get down to a better body weight and if there are one or two areas that they are still struggling with then liposuction may be the answer.