How does pregnancy affect liposuction?
Liposuction is a very common procedure in young women before or after a pregnancy. Most plastic surgeons would recommend maintaining a stable weight after liposuction; however, having liposuction on a “stubborn” area will permanently decrease the number of fat cells one has in the area. It is therefore possible that after weight gain, you may notice that the weight does not collect there as it used to. Liposuction AFTER pregnancy is also very common but it is important to understand the limitations of liposuction. Liposuction generally will not remove excess skin or “tighten” skin. Some techniques, like VASER® or Smartlipo™ may tighten skin a modest amount but it is generally not nearly the same as what can be accomplished with other techniques. For example, loose skin on the abdomen after pregnancy is much better addressed with an abdominoplasty or tummy tuck than with liposuction because an abdominoplasty will remove the excess skin whereas liposuction removes the fat underneath the skin. In fact, liposuction may even give the appearance of more loose skin after the fat has been removed. There is a risk of appearing “deflated.”
Dr. Terry Myckatyn and
Dr. Marissa Tenenbaum:
Trusted. Experienced. Committed.
Many women desiring plastic surgery would like to know how past or future pregnancies will affect their outcome. As a general rule, any weight fluctuation can affect the results of your surgery. How much it is affected can be unpredictable and certainly varies by body part and by procedure. You should discuss these issues with a board-certified plastic surgeon.
If you have questions or would like to book a consultation with one of the surgeons at West County Plastic Surgery, please call (314) 996-8800.
