Does liposuction work? What liposuction can and can't do for your body

• The best candidates for liposuction are those who are at a stable, healthy weight. 
• Liposuction works best for areas where the skin is not too loose.
• Liposuction is an effective way to contour the body and should not be used for weight loss, loose skin removal, or as a way to get rid of cellulite.
• This article was medically reviewed by Eugene Elliott, MD, cosmetic and reconstructive surgeon at MemorialCare Orange Coast Medical Center in Fountain Valley, CA.
• Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.

Liposuction can be an effective way to sculpt your body and remove stubborn pockets of fat. However, there are certain criteria you should consider when deciding if liposuction is the best option for what you're looking to change about your body. Here's what you need to know to decide if liposuction can work for you.

You have a stable weight 

Liposuction is not a treatment for obesity. In fact, 5 liters of fat is about as much as any physician will remove, and that only adds up to about 10 pounds of weight you may lose.

Therefore, the best candidates for liposuction are people who are happy with their overall body size but want to get rid of minor areas of fat that don't respond to diet and exercise, according to the American Board of Cosmetic Surgery. 

To get an ideal body shape, some people go on extreme diets before their procedure. This can cause problems, as people tend to gain back weight lost this way. 

"If you rebound and gain weight after a lipo, the areas that were treated will look lumpy," Marco A. Pelosi III, MD, a cosmetic surgeon who performs liposuction procedures "Your results will be best when your weight is stable."

Your skin isn't too loose

If you are considering getting liposuction, you may want to ask your surgeon if your skin has enough elasticity to create a good result.

If you've recently lost a lot of weight or given birth, your skin may be loose and stretched out. If you, then, try to use liposuction to treat that loose skin, it can actually make it look worse. 

That's because, during a liposuction procedure, fat cells are permanently removed from beneath the skin in the treated area. "When you remove fat from an area of loose skin, it gets looser and the skin shrinks and wrinkles at the same time," Pelosi says.

Your skin can also lose elasticity as you grow older, meaning that it is less able to shrink back into shape after being stretched out.

If you do have loose skin, like around your waist, you can fix it with an operation like a tummy tuck, where a section of skin is removed from the body.

Don't treat the wrong issue

If you are looking to treat cellulite, a condition where fat appears dimpled in areas like the thighs and buttocks, liposuction is not your best option.

This is because the dimpled areas of fat sit very close to the surface of the skin, while liposuction targets slightly deeper areas of fat, Pelosi says. Trying to reach areas close to the surface with liposuction, "will damage and discolor the skin permanently." Which may lead to irregular skin.

Some options to remove cellulite include laster treatment, CoolSculpting, and sound waves treatment. Though, keep in mind many of these treatments still need more research to determine how well they work.

The bottom line

Liposuction is a popular option to contour, and slightly reshape, the body. In 2018, alone, Americans received 258,558 liposuction procedures, according to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons.

The procedure can be very effective for people who are at a healthy weight, but have stubborn areas of fat that won't respond to diet and exercise. Before committing to a procedure, make sure to ask your doctor if liposuction is the best option for your goals.

Related stories about liposuction:

• What is liposuction? How the procedure works and how painful it is
• How long is a liposuction procedure from prep, to surgery, to recovery
• What not to do after liposuction during the first week and beyond
• How to reduce swelling after liposuction and speed up recovery

Watch: We tried to buff away our cellulite

ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7o8HSoqWeq6Oeu7S1w56pZ5ufonyowcidnKxnkpqutsDYaJuonaNiuaq8zqysnKyZpLtuw86rog%3D%3D