Ask a Surgeon - Liposuction - Due to years of being overweight when I was young, I now have more than the...

Submit your question below about any cosmetic procedure to be considered for posting with an answer from one of our board-certified plastic surgeons.

Submit a Question

Procedure: *

Procedure related to this question.

Question: *

A good title will help more Doctors find your question. Your question title is limited to 90 characters.

Description:

Enter an optional description here for futher detail. Your description is limited to 500 characters.

Name:

E-Mail Address: *

City:

State:

Country:

Are you considering cosmetic plastic surgery?: *

How did you hear about us?: *

Age: *

Gender: *

Would you like to receive e-mail news from ASAPS?: *

Click here to review the terms of use agreement.

By checking this box you agree to the terms of use.

What code is in the image?: *

Enter the characters shown in the image.

If your question is about the cost of a procedure, click here. For referral to a qualified surgeon in your area, see find a surgeon.

Note: ASAPS cannot give advice about specific medical problems nor should answers provided by responding surgeons be substituted for a complete medical history, work-up and an in-personal medical/surgical consultation. Sorry we can't answer all questions. We try to select questions that have the widest general interest.

Due to years of being overweight when I was young, I now have more than the usual...

Q:

Due to years of being overweight when I was young, I now have more than the usual amount of loose skin. I am considering liposuction to remove the fat deposits on my thighs but reports I have read suggest that with older people it can result in a 'baggy' effect. I am wondering if, after liposuction, the 'bagginess' can be helped by another type of surgery?

A:

Lipoplasty (liposuction) will reduce the amount of fat that you have between the skin and the underlying muscle layer. It will, however, have no effect on the amount of skin that you have. There can be some contraction of the skin following fat removal but, depending on your skin elasticity, the amount of contraction may be limited. If you have a lot of excess skin now, then it would be reasonable to assume that the problem could become worse following lipoplasty. A skin tightening procedure, such as a thigh lift, may be necessary to correct the “baggy” look. This procedure will leave more extensive scars than lipoplasty alone, but it will improve the contour of the treated areas. An ASAPS-member plastic surgeon can explain this procedure to you and give you a better idea of what the final result will be.