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Liposuction
Enter the "fat comes back" theory. A study led by the University of Colorado separated 32 obese women into two different groups: One had liposuction in problem areas and the other didn't. A year later, the lipo'd group had gained their weight back, leading researchers to believe that the body strives to maintain a certain fat percentage. Two years after those findings were released, the American Society of Plastic Surgeons conducted a similar study that concluded (shocker alert) that liposuctioned fat doesn't return.
However, according to Geldner, if liposuction is done correctly, even if you do gain the weight back, you'll still have a better shape than you did pre-surgery. He performs hi-definition liposuction, which basically creates the appearance of a slender figure -- yes, we're talking about instant abs, people. Does this mean you'll add poundage to other areas of the body? Maybe.
"If you do gain weight after, you'll get fat in other areas," says Geldner. "I had a patient who was fit, but she didn't have a good shape. I did the operation, and months later she had gained all the weight back. But this time, she had a much better shape," he recalls.
One woman who received liposuction in her 20s experienced the same thing. "I got liposuction for a 'problem' area I had around my stomach. No matter how often I worked out I couldn't get rid of it. I noticed after [I got it] that my hips got a lot curvier," she says.
Generally, if the fat does make a return, it's distributed evenly across your body, but not in the area it was sucked out of. In fact, getting liposuction in the same place twice isn't recommended; it creates scar tissue that may make the surface of your skin bumpy. Summed up: Lipo is forever, but that doesn't mean you won't gain weight in other areas.
Plastic surgery isn't exactly a small undertaking. Unlike Botox, which fades over time, plastic surgery is considered permanent. It's a once-and-you're-done procedure -- a smart long-term investment, which is why those of us willing to go under the knife will swallow the hefty price tag. But, as it turns out, a nip and tuck meant to erase the hands of time can defy age for only so long. And, often, patients who thought their first procedure would be their last find themselves shelling out for a tune-up. According to Chicago board-certified plastic surgeon Peter Geldner, M.D., so-called plastic surgery revisions may be inevitable -- because no one, not even your surgeon, can say whether your procedure will stand the test of time. "You cannot predict what will happen. We take you as you are now, and we change you as you are now," says Geldner.
Here, the shelf life of the most common plastic surgery procedures.
Here, the shelf life of the most common plastic surgery procedures.
