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MANHATTAN AND NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK – Manhattan tummy tuck patients are finding that the procedure does more than just flatten their tummies; it reduces their facial wrinkles and plumps their rears as well. And no, we aren’t pulling your leg.
For those of you who don’t know what a tummy tuck is, it’s a surgical procedure that allows surgeons to flatten tummies by removing excess fat, skin and repairing damaged abdominal muscles. Now, this process in particular isn’t what plumps wrinkles and butts but, it does set up tummy tuck patients perfectly for fat grafts.
How, you ask?
Fat grafting – in a nutshell – is the process of augmenting areas of the face or body with harvested fat. The reason a tummy tuck is the perfect precursor to fat grafting procedures is that it includes liposuction (how fat is harvested) of excess, unwanted fat.
“Fat harvested from a tummy tuck is often disposed of,” says Dr. Heller, a NYC plastic surgeon. “But instead of letting that fat go to waste, it could be processed and used to improve other areas.”
Fat grafting can be used for the following.
- Plump thin lips
- Reduce hollow temples and cheeks
- Erase smile lines
- Lighten dark circles
- Improve the size and shape of the buttocks
- Increase cup size
- (and more)
The most popular fat grafting procedures include the Brazilian butt lift and a fat transfer facelift. Here’s a closer look at each.
The Brazilian Butt Lift
“The Brazilian butt lift has surpassed butt implants as the leading butt augmentation procedure in my opinion,” says Dr. Elliot Heller who performs SmartLipo and liposuction in New York City. “The procedure not only eliminates the need for introducing foreign objects (implants) into the body, it reduces the risk of infection since a much smaller incision is needed to redistribute fat into the butt than is needed to insert an implant.”
The other aspect of the procedure that allows it to deliver results that trump those achieved with implants is the liposuction used to harvest fat. Fat is removed from areas like the tummy and thighs not only for augmentation, but to enhance the patient’s new curves by accentuating the areas around them.
When adding this procedure to a tummy tuck, it doesn’t mean the surgeon won’t remove unwanted fat from the lower back or thighs because they have harvested enough from the stomach during the tummy tuck. An experienced surgeon will make sure that they liposuction areas that accentuate not only the flatness of your post-tummy tuck belly, but the shape of your post-Brazilian butt lift rear.
Fat Transfer Facelift
As we age, the fat and tissues in our face begin to droop and/or deteriorate, leaving us with sunken features and wrinkles. But you don’t have to be old to have a similar facial condition. Some people are suffering from a disease, genetically inherited a gaunt face or have lost an extreme amount of weight (you don’t just lose it in your body.) The fat that is harvested from a tummy tuck can be processed and reinjected into hollow areas of the face to restore fullness and reduce wrinkles almost as drastically as a facelift. In fact, the results of a facelift can be drastically improved with fat grafts.
It is important to keep a couple of things in mind if you are to be eligible for a fat graft.
First, you must have an appropriate amount of fat available for harvest or you will be advised to gain weight before the procedure.
Second, fat is not necessarily permanent. The body will reabsorb the fat that does not establish by creating its own blood supply. However, improved techniques have increased the retention rate of relocated fat and surgeons often “over augment” areas to compensate for some reabsorption that will inevitably occur.
If you are interested in adding a Brazilian butt lift or other fat grafting procedures to your tummy tuck, contact our offices for a free initial consultation with a top plastic surgeon.
