Doctors Bust Medical Myths and Lies

MYTH: Fat won’t grow back after liposuction.

By Arthur Perry, MD, FACS, Clin. Assoc. Prof of Plastic Surgery, RWJ Medical School

FACT: Liposuction, the most popular cosmetic surgical procedure for nearly 30 years, removes fat from the belly, hips, thighs, and virtually every area of the body. While not a substitute for weight loss, liposuction can take those last few pounds of fat off of your body when you’re close to your ideal weight, making clothes fit better. 

We’ve been telling patients for decades that once the fat is removed, it will never grow back. It’s like cutting off your fingertip – unless you’re a reptile, it can’t grow back. 

But earlier this year, this myth was debunked – sort of. It turns out that after thigh liposuction, there is indeed less fat on the thighs. But by the end of a year, while the thighs remain lean, fat increases on the belly.

It turns out that, despite the fact that we are healthier with less fat, there is a survival advantage if we pack on a few extra pounds. Ten-thousand years ago, before refrigerators and restaurants, if we couldn’t catch a deer for lunch, those of us with bigger fat deposits would survive longer. After liposuction, your body remembers its genetic destiny and those pounds find their way back.