While the surgical removal of fat may seem like an ideal method of weight reduction, liposuction is, at best, a questionable solution. Unlike diet and exercise, fat reduction via liposuction has no proven health benefits. And the procedure cannot help those who are diffusely overweight. Instead, liposuction is appropriate only for people of normal or near-normal weight who have stubborn fat deposits that do not respond to diet and exercise. Candidates should also be in good general health and have skin that is elastic enough to shrink evenly after the surgery--which rules out many people over 50. Finally, liposuction comes with no cosmetic guarantees: While the extracted fat cells will not return, weight can still be gained at other sites in the body. Common sites of liposuction include the abdomen, hips, buttocks, thighs, legs, upper arms, face, and neck; sometimes several areas are treated at once. While the overall risk associated with liposuction is low, the more fat that is removed, the greater the risk of complications such as infection or blood clots.
