JoyceF SAID:

This is a rather strange question but about 20 years ago I elected to have some lipo of the flank area. I was quite happy for a number of years but now find that I am gaining weight in my midsection and of course there is no longer any fat in my hip area. I am not as happy with the way my body seems to be changing shapes whereby I am getting much more of an apple shape rather than a pear shape. Is there any way to more or less reverse things and reshape the thigh area with perhaps my abdomen fat? I know it’s a stretch but has anyone done this or does it even make sense? Oh and I’ve always wondered what would happen if one would continue to remove fat from all of the problem areas. Once one no longer has any fat cells then what happens? Where does one gain weight?

0 Answers

  1. Dr. Gustavo Galante wrote on :

    Theoretically, when liposuction is performed on one bodily area, there are less fat cells to enlarge that region. Hence, other areas will experience more collections of fat. This appears to be what you are describing. A photo would be helpful, but sometimes, additional liposuction to contour the areas that have collected more fat can be beneficial. Age and hormonal changes can be factors here as well.

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  2. Dr. Kouros Azar wrote on :

    These are good questions. I am going to assume that you are a woman even though you didn’t specify. In that case, if you removed most of your flank fat, then gaining weight would cause the fat cells in your abdomen and thighs to gain proportionally more than the flanks since the cells in the flank were removed. Now, your abdomen also will become more protuberant as you age, not only from weight gain but also gradually weakening of the muscle and connective tissues of the abdomen especially if you have been pregnant in the past. You probably would benefit from a combination of a tummy tuck and liposuction with fat injection into the thighs. Of course I am saying this without seeing you or your photos but based on your story it sounds like the closest best option. Lastly if you all the fat cells removed in problem areas, significant weight gain, like over 20 lbs might deposit in areas that still have fat cells (arms, legs, face, breast) and most importantly the inside of the abdomen called the omentum is a curtain of fat that hangs off of the colon inside, this can build up fat if you gain lots of weight. In practicality though these are only theoretical. We don’t see patients with these kind of problems for the most part.

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