Liposuction is a safe and commonly performed plastic surgery procedure to eliminate adipose deposits from different areas of the body. When performed by a board-certified and experienced plastic surgeon, it can provide impressive results in terms of body contouring. But when the procedure is done by someone who lacks skills or knowledge, the results can be disappointing.
Revision surgery is needed after liposuction in several cases:
1. We have asymmetries that are left after liposuction that need to be corrected. The surgeon might have extracted more fat from one side of the body and now the patient is confronted with an unbalance between the left and right side of the body. For example, when it is performed on the thighs, one leg might be slimmer than the other after the procedure and the lack of proportion is visible. To correct this, another liposuction procedure needs to be scheduled.
2. The skin has not retracted to the new contours of the body. This can happen either because the patient didn’t wear the compressive garment or because s/he has poor skin quality and liposuction shouldn’t have been recommended in the first place. When saggy skin occurs or is accentuated after liposuction, a lifting procedure is required to correct the condition.
3. A revision surgery might also be needed if the surgeon didn’t extract all the fat that could be eliminated from the area treated. Keep in mind that the volume of the fat removed needs to be under 5-6 liters for the patient to be safe and avoid life-threatening complications. However, I have seen patients who had liposuction and only 1-2 liters of fat were extracted but the area obviously needed more work.
A revision intervention after liposuction should be scheduled after at least six months since the initial intervention. The body needs time to heal after the procedure, and we need to see the final results before deciding upon undergoing surgery again.