Liposuction Fat Removal is Not Permanent, Study Shows

I found this paper about liposuction and fat gain. This is, to my knowledge, the first peer-reviewed paper that has looked scientifically at whether people will gain weight after liposuction. Liposuction is very popular in industrialized modern society. It is often seen as fast-track technique for achieving weight loss and for cosmetic purposes.

Liposuction was "created" in 1974. Since then, especially with the introduction of the tumescent technique in 1990, suction lipectomy (the medical term for liposuction) has become a practical solution for eliminating fat spots not responding to lifestyle modification (diet and exercise).

People believes that liposuction is a permanent solution to their weight problems. Although people may believe that liposuction will remove fat for ever, there is anecdotal evidence contrary to that. I have seen how some of my friends who have gained weight after a couple of years of having gone through liposuction. But as I said there were no scientific study about this issue.

Now in a what I believe is the first paper on liposuction and fat gain, titled: "Fat Redistribution Following Suction Lipectomy: Defense of Body Fat and Patterns of Restoration", there is direct evidence that there is fat gain after Liposuction. Not only that, authors have shown that the fat gain is reallocated to the waist instead of to the place where it was removed.

If you are interested you can go and read the details on the paper, but the indisputable evidence (by different techniques such as dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry, magnetic resonance imaging. Hyperinsulinemic euglycemic clamp and blood measurements) is that body fat is restored after one year and that the "new fat" is deposited around the abdominal area.

This study is of great interest for people looking at liposuction for fat reduction, it is also important from a scientific perspective on body fat and obesity and more especifically on the hypothesis of the "body fat set-point". Many scientists believe that there is a fat set-point (a percentage of body fat) that will be defended by the body if we try to modify it through diet or exercise.

This paper proves what was seen in animal models. If you physically remove fat from the body, the body will make more fat to restore its fat set point. It is an intrinsic regulatory system that must be taken into consideration for any intervention for weight loss. The fact that fat is reallocated to the abdomen after liposuction poses an additional risk for the patient since abdominal fat is associated with higher cardiovascular risks.

Sources:

Hernandez TL, Kittelson JM, Law CK, Ketch LL, Stob NR, Lindstrom RC, Scherzinger A, Stamm ER, Eckel RH. (2011) Fat redistribution following suction lipectomy: defense of body fat and patterns of restoration. Obesity (Silver Spring). 2011 Jul;19(7):1388-95. doi: 10.1038/oby.2011.64. Epub 2011 Apr 7.

Klein JA. The tumescent technique. Anesthesia and modified liposuction technique. Dermatol Clin 1990;8:425'"437.

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