Just like any other cosmetic procedure, there are some people who are better suited to having liposuction than others. These people will get the best results and are the preferred patients of cosmetic surgeons. Most such surgeons will refuse treatment for those who they don’t consider good candidates, since they don’t want to risk getting a poor reputation from someone whose procedure did not do what they expected.

So who are those lucky people that are suitable candidates to have their fatty lumps removed and their body beautifully contoured ?

• People whose skin is very firm and elastic. Elastic skin has the ability to bounce back after those fatty cells are removed. If your skin is wrinkled and sagging, it will sag even more after liposuction. Even if it is not sagging now, skin that doesn’t have much collagen is likely to sag after treatment. That is why older people whose skin is often lacking in collagen and elasticity may be refused treatment. It’s just as well; you wouldn’t want a big sag where a bump once lived.

• People who lack nicotine – because they don’t smoke. It’s hard to believe doctors once promoted smoking as a way to avoid weight gain. These days they know better. Smoking increases all the risks of complications during any medical procedure, including having your fat cells removed. Nicotine reduces blood flow to the skin which in turn reduces its ability to heal. Nicotine is a vasoconstrictor, tightening those blood vessels so they don’t deliver enough blood to heal. Even nicotine patches and lozenges have the same effect.
• People who restrict their weight gain after surgery by cutting back on sugar and calories are good candidates – or at least, they can expect to have the best results from their surgery. If they don’t put on weight afterwards, they won’t get fatty bumps in another area of their body.
• Those who are healthy before surgery are good candidates for this type of body sculpting. They are more likely to come through the surgery with flying colours and their skin and tissues will bounce back, giving them the look and feel they wanted. People who are ill with any disease should not have surgery such as this, which is after all, optional. Healthy outcomes can certainly be affected by ill health, age, unhealthy eating and lack of exercise.

If you have areas of fat you don’t like, your doctor may require you to go on a diet and spend time doing exercises to see if that helps the fatty tissue to decrease. It is actually a much better way to get the body shape you want, rather than going through the stress and pain of surgery even though the pain is minimal.