To undergo liposuction, you must be in good health and not have conditions that could make surgery difficult. These may include blood flow problems, coronary artery disease, diabetes, or a weak immune system. The Royal College of Surgeons has more information and advice on what to do if things go wrong with cosmetic surgery. Liposuction is not a treatment for obesity and will not remove cellulite or stretch marks.
Liposuction is not a weight-loss method. Overweight or obese patients should consider losing weight with diet and exercise to achieve and maintain their goal body weight before considering liposuction. Significantly obese patients with a body mass index greater than 40 may be suitable candidates for weight-loss surgery, including gastric sleeve or gastric bypass surgery. Anyone who loses a significant amount of weight should remember that they are at risk of developing sagging skin, which can worsen with a liposuction procedure. This category of patients will achieve better treatment results after a procedure to remove excess skin, such as a tummy tuck.
Any patient who is in good health and has had a positive medical exam can safely undergo liposuction. A lack of firmness and elasticity (which usually diminish with age) can compromise the skin's ability to recover newly thinned and reshaped contours. Poor skin quality is one of the main contraindications to liposuction. You must have a healthy and stable weight before undergoing liposuction.
If you are losing weight, you may not need liposuction. If you gain weight afterward, you may not see much results. It is only really suitable for people who have tried to change their lifestyle and have found that this has not helped them. There are only a few different liposuction techniques.
But what they all have in common is the use of a thin tube, called a cannula, connected to a vacuum to suck fat out of the body. The ideal candidate for liposuction should be within 30% of their ideal body weight; a stable weight is essential for long-term results. Patients who want to lose weight in the future should not undergo liposuction until they are close to their ideal weight.
