Would you consider liposuction for those pockets of fat that don't vanish?

As long as someone is fully aware of the risks involved and has realistic expectations about the results then only they can decide if the procedures are right for them. Always research the doctors and go to a certified and experienced surgeon. What I’d do is write down any questions I can think of before the consultation appointment so my mind doesn’t go blank when I see the doctor and forget to ask any important questions. I think you will have a better idea of whether or not you want to go through with it after the initial consultation.

Personally so far I’ve only had 2 considerations for plastic surgery: one I didn’t go through with and one I did:

My “almost” plastic surgery experience: Years ago I considered a breast reduction and had a consultation with a surgeon. After he explained the procedure to me in detail I lost my interest in the surgery because it just seemed too brutal a thing to do to my body at the time. I’ve never regretted not getting the surgery either. A couple years later I lost weight and even though my breast size remained exactly the same, my back fat went away so my band fit better and supported the heft, not to mention I finally found (cute and affordable) bras that actually fit my size online from the UK (they don’t sell my size in regular US stores) Once I started (barefoot) running regularly my posture improved 100% and that greatly improved how I carry my chest weight and made everything so much more manageable, I’m so happy I didn’t get the reduction because in my case it was actually unnecessary, I just needed to fix other things and that consequentially fixed my breast issues.

My lipoma removal experience: a couple of years after my weight loss, I began having pain on my right side lower ribcage, I had a lipoma there I never noticed, it was probably uncovered after I lost my excess weight and had grown in a way that was now pushing against the nerves on my ribs. It was the exact size, shape and firmness of a hard boiled egg. My insurance wouldn’t pay for it to be removed (they consider lipomas purely a cosmetic issue) so I had to pay myself. I ended up going to a very experienced dermatologist and plastic surgeon and she removed it by excision under local anesthetic. I will say that I seem to be the kind of person who needs an extra amount of anesthesia to not feel pain (even for dental procedures) so I did feel some of the procedure while it was happening. She gave me the maximum safe dose of anesthetic but it was still quite a painful experience in my case, I powered through but it was bad. The ribs have a lot of nerves so that probably contributed to the pain. After it was done, I had to pack the area with gauze and keep light pressure on it so the area wouldn’t fill up with fluid (like blood or lymph) for a few days. She did some internal sutures (that would later dissolve) to help keep the newly empty space from filling up with anything. I had to put a waterproof bandaid on it for every shower for the next 2 weeks and clean the area and change the dressing daily. Once it healed I no longer had the constant rib pain the lipoma caused me. She advised me that the scar would continue to “remodel” over the next 1-2 years and that was exactly correct. After a year the scar was much improved and after 2 years it was barely perceptible. Now, unless you were specifically looking for the scar you wouldn’t even see it. She did a fantastic job, the scar is not raised nor puckered in any way, completely smooth against the surrounding skin and doesn’t pull or distort with movement. It takes a skilled surgeon to achieve this so if scarring is a concern make sure you discuss this with the doctor. I had to refrain from exercising for about a month then start with only walking the next month and gradually work back up to my regular running schedule. You definitely want to ask the doc what you can expect for recovery time. I remember looking into liposuction for my lipoma but I think I remember it not being the best way to remove lipomas because they are more prone to grow back if the lipoma is not completely removed, if they miss a little piece of it. That’s why I chose to have it excised. Also, an important thing to ask the surgeon would be how to expect the skin to react after the liposuction, is it going to be loose and stretched out? Will it tighten up on its own? Will it need to be removed later? Personally I kinda find liposuction scary because just by it’s very nature it’s a blind procedure, it’s completely up to the individual doctor to calculate how deep and how far to insert the cannula (and in what movement pattern) not like excision where they can clearly see what they are cutting into. It’s also routine to have a sample of the lipoma sent to a lab to screen it for any abnormal cells just in case, since it is technically a tumor, albeit nearly always a benign one. Not sure if they do that with liposuction. All good things to ask the surgeon at your consultation. Whatever you choose to do, good luck