# Self Liposuction
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/self-liposuction/316306
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [August 9, 2005, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/self-liposuction/316306 "2005-08-09T18:03:27Z")
**Posts on this page:** 19
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@The\_Controvert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Controvert)
#### Post date: [August 9, 2005, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/self-liposuction/316306/1 "2005-08-09T18:03:27Z")
What would happen if you tried to remove a small amount of body fat from yourself? Is there a safe way to do this?
Is it possible to suck out fat with a syringe?
It would be neat if you could inject something that liquifies a few fat cells and could either be sucked out with a syringe or squeezed out like a zit.
Is there a gene therapy that reduces fat? What about those scientists who gave injections to the rats that became super muscular?
---
### Author:  [@Padeye](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Padeye)
#### Post date: [August 9, 2005, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/self-liposuction/316306/2 "2005-08-09T21:04:15Z")
I’m suprised no medical dopers have answered this so I’ll bump it and add my own 2¢.
Liposuction can have potentially serious complications even when done by professionals and I think that an amateur would have considerably worse odds, particularly when working on himself.
---
### Author:  [@Bippy\_the\_Beardless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bippy_the_Beardless)
#### Post date: [August 9, 2005, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/self-liposuction/316306/3 "2005-08-09T21:23:58Z")
I don’t think anyone would recomend DIY surgery. Non the less the image of someone trying to do this to themselves by sucking through a straw has probably scarred my brain for life.
---
### Author:  [@groman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/groman)
#### Post date: [August 9, 2005, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/self-liposuction/316306/4 "2005-08-09T23:14:20Z")
I think out of ALL DIY surgeries, I’d recommend liposuction the least. You’d probably have better luck with an appendix removal. That, at least, has been done by people on themselves. But yeah, don’t do anything like that if you have to ask how and it’s not a situation where it’s DIY or DOA.
---
### Author:  [@spingears](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spingears)
#### Post date: [August 10, 2005, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/self-liposuction/316306/5 "2005-08-10T02:21:02Z")
> [@The Controvert](#):
>
> What would happen if you tried to remove a small amount of body fat from yourself? Is there a safe way to do this?
> Is it possible to suck out fat with a syringe?
> It would be neat if you could inject something that liquifies a few fat cells and could either be sucked out with a syringe or squeezed out like a zit.
> Is there a gene therapy that reduces fat? What about those scientists who gave injections to the rats that became super muscular?
DAQ=SAR
You must have more guts [FAT?] than the dude whose doc says cut at this point and he replys, “Doc, shouldn’t you be doing this?”
---
### Author:  [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)
#### Post date: [August 10, 2005, 8:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/self-liposuction/316306/6 "2005-08-10T08:54:28Z")
> [@The Controvert](#):
>
> What would happen if you tried to remove a small amount of body fat from yourself? Is there a safe way to do this?
>
> Is it possible to suck out fat with a syringe?
>
> It would be neat if you could inject something that liquifies a few fat cells and could either be sucked out with a syringe or squeezed out like a zit.
>
> Is there a gene therapy that reduces fat? What about those scientists who gave injections to the rats that became super muscular?
As you appear to realise, fat isn’t just stored in big, buttery masses in your body (or else you’d be able to move it around by massaging it. It’s stored inside specialised tissues. Lipsuction is actually a rather violent operation - it needs to be because it consists of breaking off pieces of the fat-storage tissues…
---
### Author:  [@zoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoid)
#### Post date: [October 25, 2012, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/self-liposuction/316306/8 "2012-10-25T13:16:14Z")
> [@harkuluse](#):
>
> Please check this video to know the entire procedure of liposuction .Check this out.
No thanks.
---
### Author:  [@Darth\_Panda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Panda)
#### Post date: [October 25, 2012, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/self-liposuction/316306/9 "2012-10-25T13:23:15Z")
They tried it in South Park. It seemed to go kinda OK.
---
### Author:  [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)
#### Post date: [October 25, 2012, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/self-liposuction/316306/10 "2012-10-25T13:32:25Z")
> [@zoid](#):
>
> No thanks.
It’s most likely spam. Reported.
---
### Author:  [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)
#### Post date: [October 25, 2012, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/self-liposuction/316306/11 "2012-10-25T13:35:23Z")
Yeesh. Just eat less and exercise.
---
### Author:  [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)
#### Post date: [October 25, 2012, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/self-liposuction/316306/12 "2012-10-25T13:48:27Z")
Just think - if it was that easy to suck yourself off, why wouldn’t everyone be doing it?
---
### Author:  [@Qwertol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qwertol)
#### Post date: [October 25, 2012, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/self-liposuction/316306/13 "2012-10-25T14:02:04Z")
I believe there were videos over the internet of some guy doing self liposuction…
---
### Author:  [@Qwertol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qwertol)
#### Post date: [October 25, 2012, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/self-liposuction/316306/14 "2012-10-25T14:08:03Z")
I even got link on youtube, but video was removed long, long time ago…
But here is something related to that matter: [1999 Darwin Award: Liposuction Tragedy](http://darwinawards.com/darwin/darwin1999-60.html)
---
### Author:  [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)
#### Post date: [October 25, 2012, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/self-liposuction/316306/15 "2012-10-25T14:13:21Z")
> [@Mangetout](#):
>
> As you appear to realise, fat isn’t just stored in big, buttery masses in your body (or else you’d be able to move it around by massaging it. It’s stored inside specialised tissues. Lipsuction is actually a rather violent operation - it needs to be because it consists of breaking off pieces of the fat-storage tissues..
Well looking at meat we can buy I would say that fat is stored in big fatty masses in a semi-solid state. Using the term buttery indicated that it is squishable/deformable while it appears to be more rubbery. Aside - Can you imagine how much more then bullies would pick on the fat kid if fat could be moved around like that.
I did see someone split their upper thigh skin open on a hike, about a 8 in tear, not much blood, but it appeared to be torn though a fatty layer. Perhaps something like this could be used to remove some fat, but 1: it seemed like a very bad way to access it and 2: not very effective as you would sustain a major injury just to get a little out.
---
### Author:  [@Napier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Napier)
#### Post date: [October 26, 2012, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/self-liposuction/316306/16 "2012-10-26T04:48:26Z")
Yeah, you know, this just has trouble written all over it. If you can muster up some kind of instinct that tells you not to cut into yourself, listen to it.
---
### Author:  [@nion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nion)
#### Post date: [October 27, 2012, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/self-liposuction/316306/17 "2012-10-27T04:47:56Z")
> [@Bippy\_the\_Beardless](#):
>
> I don’t think anyone would recomend DIY surgery. Non the less the image of someone trying to do this to themselves by sucking through a straw has probably scarred my brain for life.
If you sucked out and ate some of your fat, would it get turned back into body fat again? (asking anyone)
---
### Author:  [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)
#### Post date: [July 9, 2013, 6:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/self-liposuction/316306/19 "2013-07-09T06:01:04Z")
Reported
---
### Author:  [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)
#### Post date: [July 9, 2013, 6:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/self-liposuction/316306/20 "2013-07-09T06:42:51Z")
> [@nion](#):
>
> If you sucked out and ate some of your fat, would it get turned back into body fat again? (asking anyone)
Some of it probably would, but the process would not be 100% efficient, so some would be burned off as waste heat and perhaps even some by exercise. Also, I think a significant amount of energy would be required to repair the tissue damage done by the operation. All in all, even if everything else remained the same (same diet and same amount of exercise otherwise as you would have done anyway) you would gain back some of the weight you lost, but not all of it.
---
### Author:  [@Digital\_is\_the\_new\_Analog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Digital_is_the_new_Analog)
#### Post date: [July 9, 2013, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/self-liposuction/316306/21 "2013-07-09T13:54:39Z")
(fyi, this somewhat young zombie thread was revived by a spammer after post 16.)