You probably have a few places on your body where fat likes to stick around. You may have lost weight and put in your time at the gym, but there are still those spots where you have fat that won’t budge. Liposuction can remove that difficult fat to give you the contours you want.
How Does Liposuction Work?
If you’re a fan of plastic surgery reality shows, you may have seen liposuction performed. Your surgeon makes a small incision and inserts a blunt-tipped tool called a cannula. The cannula moves around under the skin, breaking up fat. Your surgeon will suction out the right amount of fat to give you a slimmer, more sculpted look. Make sure you have your liposuction performed by a board-certified plastic surgeon: liposuction is an art as much as a procedure, so skill and experience matter when it comes to results.
Where Can You Have Liposuction?
You can have liposuction almost anywhere in your body where fat accumulates and doesn’t want to go away. You can have liposuction in all of these well-known (and some surprising) places:
- Abdomen
- Thighs
- Buttocks
- Hips
- Arms
- Calves
- Ankles
- Chest
- Back
- Neck
Yes, liposuction works on ankles. 
What Happens to the Fat?
The fat that comes out during liposuction can be purified and put back in. Why would you put the fat back in? When your fat cells are injected back into your body, they can take up residence, develop a blood supply, and settle in. You may have places in your body where you would like to see a little more volume. The most popular area for fat transfer is into the buttocks. If you’ve heard of a Brazilian butt lift, this is how it works. Unlike artificial fillers, these fat cells are there to stay.
What About The Loose Skin?
If your skin has good elasticity, it will bounce back after liposuction, leaving the area smooth and toned. Not everyone still has skin with good elasticity, though, so what happens? Your surgeon can remove excess loose skin, but this will require a surgical procedure with an accompanying scar.
You can also ask if your surgeon offers a skin tightening treatment like Renuvion®. This fairly new technology uses radiofrequency (RF) energy, also used in treatments like RF microneedling to tighten facial skin. It also uses cold helium plasma that protects the skin from heat. After liposuction, the surgeon inserts a small tool that sends pulses of energy into the skin and connective tissue. This makes the collagen fibers in the skin tighten.
Is Liposuction Permanent?
Yes and no. Fat cells removed by liposuction will never come back. Our bodies do not make new fat cells. However, the ones we have can shrink when we lose weight or expand when we gain. If you have a significant weight change after liposuction, the fat cells in that area can get bigger.
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