Can Abdominal Etching Be Done Again Because I Don’t See Any Results From The First Time?

Q: I had an abdominal etching procedure with liposuction of the love handles one month ago. I also had a lower buttock lift. But I still have not seen abdominal muscles. I want to have abdominal etching again. Is it possible? How long will I have to wait? I also want to have a buttock augmentation using fat cells. My butt looks too small and I want to make them lifted rounder and fuller. Is that possible?

A: Abdominal etching is essentially a linear form of superficial liposuction. While the swelling from this surgery is not completely gone from this operation, you should be seeing some of the etching at one month after surgery. If you are not seeing any signs of the etching pattern by now, that would indicate that it may not been done aggressively enough or with inadequate technique. The etching can be redone but I would wait at least 3 months after the first procedure before doing a revision. That will give you adequate time to be sure that the etching result is insufficient.

Buttock augmentation is commonly done with fat injections, often called a Brazilian Butt Lift. The only limiting factor in this non-implant buttock augmentation is whether you have enough fat to harvest. It is usually taken from the abdomen and flanks but those donor sites may have already been liposuctioned in your first procedure.

Dr. Barry Eppley

Indianapolis, Indiana