Wednesday, May 4, 2011

Liposuction: Fat Lost and Found

Source: NY Times
Last Sunday, the New York Times published an article on liposuction by writer Gina Kolata.

The paper highlights an important finding from a recent study in the journal Obesity. In a prospective, randomized trial of abdominal liposuction in women, body fat was restored and redistributed mostly in the upper abdomen, shoulders and triceps of the arms, within the course of one year. What fat was lost was later found in new anatomic areas. It should be noted that participants agreed not to make any lifestyle changes that could potentially impact body fat.

Much of medical practice is not supported by robust evidence, rather by anecdotes of success and case series of low quality and questionable follow up time. As such, this study was novel in the body of literature for cosmetic surgery/liposuction.

Although I am no means an expert in this field of medicine, durable weight loss appears not amenable to a quick fix and matters of lifestyle changes still play a paramount role.