Liposuction for cellulite?

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• Does lipo get rid of cellulite?

• There are two types of superficial fat

• Liposuction removes subcutaneous fat

• Does liposuction remove cellulite?

• In fact liposuction almost always makes cellulite look worse and skin looser

• Can vaser, smart lipo or body-tite help?

• If lipo leaves skin loose, then what is the solution?

• If cellulite looks worse after lipo, what do I need to do?

• Check our professional consultancy for a masterclass in radiofrequency, ultrasound cavitation, cellulite and skin tightening

Does lipo get rid of cellulite?

This is a common question we hear at the clinic and it is totally understandable, given all the misleading “advice” by anyone from clueless bloggers all the way to unscrupulous plastic surgeons.

There are two types of superficial fat

To understand whether liposuction can help with cellulite we have to know what kind of fat liposuction removes and what kind of fat cellulite is made of.

In addition to deep fat, found deep inside the stomach (visceral fat) and intramuscular fat, found inside muscles (as in “marble fat” in steaks), there are two other types of fat depots on the human body, both are found on the surface of the body:

• Subcutaneous fat, which is found under the skin

• Hypodermal and dermal fat, which is found inside the skin

Liposuction removes subcutaneous fat

When a surgeon inserts a cannula to remove fat via liposuction, vaser, smart lipo, body-tite or any other liposuction-like procedure, they go under the skin to remove the subcutaneous fat found there, i.e. fat between skin and muscle.

During weight gain this fat can expand to be several centimetres deep and that fat is aspirated (sucked) out of the body via a liposuction procedure.

Does liposuction remove cellulite?

Hypodermal and dermal fat are inside the skin itself and its upward pressure can create bumps on the surface of the skin of a maximum of 2mm height, creating the cellulite appearance.

Hypodermal and dermal fat (i.e. cellulite fat) is interwoven within the skin itself, so liposuction can never remove that fat. Obviously trying to remove that fat would remove the skin itself - not a great idea…

If a surgeon tells you that they will remove your cellulite with liposuction, they are simply and clearly lying: we cannot imagine a surgeon who has seen with their eyes hundreds or even thousands of subcutaneous adiposes tissues and hypodermal adiposes tissues to be so ignorant.

(Over the years we have seen clients at the clinic that were promised by their surgeons cellulite reduction with liposuction - very unethical.)

In fact liposuction almost always makes cellulite look worse and skin looser

When we put excess fat on, our skin stretches to accommodate that excess fat underneath it.

• In most people, this fat keeps skin relatively taut

• In some, skin is so loose that it already sags, due to gravity

When fat is removed after lipo (or even after normal weight loss), the skin tautness, which was there due to the pressure of fat underneath, disappears. As a result, the excess skin is left appearing loose or even hanging, just like a deflated balloon that looks puckered.

The fact is that liposuction almost always leaves skin loose - and sometimes very loose.

This excess skin looseness makes cellulite LOOK worse. Cellulite does not itself become worse or better after lipo, it just becomes more evident, more visible: it looks worse.

Can vaser, smart lipo or body-tite help?

Vaser (ultrasound-assisted liposuction), smart-lipo (laser-assisted liposuction) and body-tite (radiofrequency-assisted liposuction) in theory tighten up the skin after surgery, by literally burning the skin from within and sticking it (coagulating it) with the underlying fascia, in order to leave you with “tight” - or at least not too loose - skin.

In reality, however, these techniques cause skin hardening/scar tissue-ing, rather than healthy skin tightening. The quality of collagen produced after a deep skin burn that the ultrasound / laser / RF tip produces is very low: randomly aligned collagen fibres and not much elastin, as is the case with all scar tissues.

Furthermore, real life has shown that this effect is usually short-lived (less than a year). On the other hand, if the skin hardening / scar tissue-ing is excessive, it causes more problems than it solves, i.e. ‘adhesions’ and fibrotic hard lumps.

Who is going to have fibrosis and adhesions depends on both surgeon skill and how each body reacts, i.e. it’s totally unpredictable.

In any case, those three methods (vaser, smart lipo, bodytite) do not affect cellulite in the slightest, they just aim to improve skin tautness. If someone tells you they can “cure” cellulite with vaser, smart-lipo or bodytite, they are simply lying.

(Again, over the years we have seen clients at the clinic that were promised by their surgeons cellulite reduction with vaser, smart-lipo or bodytite. Also very unethical.)

If lipo leaves skin loose, then what is the solution?

Unfortunately there is no fool-proof solution.

Lipo, in all its guises, with energy cannula tips or not, will leave skin loose: either a bit loose (in light cases) or very loose (in more severe cases).

The secret is not to have weight gain in the first place, especially excessive weight gain that requires lipo. Boring fact, but still the most important fact.

For people with small amounts of fat to be removed, the best choice is to lose the weight with healthy nutrition and exercise and in the same period of time as you lose the weight tighten up your skin and remove cellulite with deep-acting, high-power radio frequency/ultrasound:

• it will cost less than lipo

• there will not be any downtime, fibrosis or scar tissue

• the weight loss will improve your health and the diet/RF/ultrasound will remove cellulite and tighten up your skin

…all of which lipo cannot do.

For people with large amounts of fat to be removed, yes, liposuction is the answer, with the concomitant skin laxity.

If cellulite looks worse after lipo, what do I need to do?

The same as in all cases of cellulite:

• Have a course of a good, deep-acting, high-power radiofrequency and high-power ultrasound cavitation, starting two months after lipo

• Apply a real cellulite cream, i.e. one with multiple, high-purity anti-cellulite actives in high concentrations

• Follow a super-healthy nutrition, exercise and lifestyle regime

Check our professional consultancy for a masterclass in radiofrequency, ultrasound cavitation, cellulite and skin tightening

Do you want to deeply understand radiofrequency, ultrasound cavitation, cellulite and skin tightening? Attend a half-day, 1-day or 2-day or 3-day professional consultancy / one-to-one training and confidently offer your clients the safest, strongest and most effective treatment possible. Service available via Zoom or at our central London practice.