How often can you have liposuction?

This question's answer is complex, but can be answered generally in 2 parts. First, lipo, if done correctly by a trained and properly certified plastic surgeon can be effective if done only once if you maintain your healthy weight and exercise. If enough fat was removed and the result was as you desired, then it was considered effective. If you didn't get the look you wanted, it could still be said to be effective, but simply not meeting your ideals. The plastic surgeon along with you, the patient, determine before surgery what is to be interpreted as the best outcome or an effective result. When the patient's wishes diverge from what is prudent or what is feasible, even if the lipo was done well and produces a cosmetically appealing result, the patient can say that the surgery was not "effective" even though it may have been quite effective. This is a separate argument and doesn�t address effectiveness, but speaks to patient expectations which can be really out of line with what is possible or probable.

The second part of the answer deals is how many times can it be done and be effective, using the definition of �effective� above (cosmetically appealing, meeting ideals, etc). Lipo produces minor damage to the tissues from the cannulas being forced in and out of the fat. This may produce scarring which can contract the tissues. Going back in the same area, the surgeon might encounter fibrous or tough scar-like tissues which don't suction well. This can produce a moth-eaten or over-suctioned appearance. I think of Tara Reid�s stomach when I think of over-suctioned. She looks like someone either didn�t know what they were doing (see credential comment above) or someone who did too much. So, for this part of the answer, repeated lipo in the same area with that kind of outcome could be said to be ineffective after repeated treatments, regardless of how many. That said, know that lipo revisions are common, meaning that the surgeon might have to re-enter the lipo'd site to take more fat, but this is usually a very small amount in a focused area, so the risk of over-suctioning is smaller...but it can still happen.

In summary, lipo can be performed once and be effective, and multiple suctioning of the same area may be more effective if done judiciously and in small amounts with the goal of perfecting the first procedure. Of course, if you are not going to exercise and eat healthy, lipo is a waste of money and time. You supposedly cannot add more fat cells to areas that are lipo'd but you can likely expand the fat cells left behind and you can certainly add fat to other areas, distorting the overall proportion of your body that you paid to attain with lipo. Many surgeons won't take patients who are not within a fair range of their ideal weight for his reason.