A new study by US researchers has found that while liposuction removes fat from parts of a patient's body, it often reappears in other areas.

The research found that a year after having the procedure to remove litres of fat many are back where they started in terms of the amount of fat in the body as, while the fat does not return to the areas it was removed from, it does appear in other areas, typically the shoulders, arms and upper abdomen.

The study looked at 32 non-obese women in their mid-30s with 14 having liposuction and 18 acting as "controls" and not having the treatment. The women who had liposuction all saw fat returning to their bodies though they were happy that it had gone from areas such as the hips and thighs, even if it had been found in other parts of their body.

The study was led by Teri Hernandez and Robert Eckel of the University of Colorado who said that it showed that the fat had been "redistributed upstairs". Rudolph Leibel from New York's Columbia University said that liposuction destroys the structure under the skin which provides an explanation for why the fat doesn't regrow in the areas it was taken away from.

Liposuction, which developed during the 1970s, is especially popular in the United States where 450,000 operations are carried out annually. There were 3,369 operations in the UK last year by members of the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1382729/Liposuction-fat-year-Whats-taken-thighs-returns-arms.html