Your Questions

Q:  Hi there, I was interested in your lip lift procedure and wondering if you did fat transfer to the face for reshaping/volumizing, and a butt lift using fat transfer.  I’ve been researching for several months and I’m ready to have it done, but I’m wanting to find the right surgeon for me.

A:I do a lot of fat injection surgery, most commonly to the face for volumetric enhancement and to the buttock for augmentation, otherwise known as the Brazilian Butt Lift.  Fat transplantation by injection is a really exciting approach for numerous face and body contour problems even if its ultimate survival is not always assured. The exact technique for fat preparation varies by surgeon and there is no absolute agreement as to how it should be done.  I use a fat concentration technique and then mix it with PRP and Acell Particles to enhance survival and volume retention. These are by far the most common recipient locations. The key is whether one has enough fat to harvest which is an issue for the buttocks and not the face.

Lip ‘lifts’ can be done as either a subnasal lip lift or a vermilion advancement depending upon the shape of the upper lip and the patient’s scar tolerance. Please send me some photos of your lip for my assessment. Both approaches can be very successful when properly done. Vermilion advancements produce the most dramatic change in lip size and shape. True subnasal lip lifts are more limited in how they change the shape of the upper lip.

Dr. Barry Eppley

Indianapolis Indiana

Q:  I am interested in buttocks injections and basically wanted to know a little more about the procedure. I would like fat removed from my waistline or abdomen area and injected into the buttocks. I would like a fuller bottom and a smaller waistline. I am an active member of the Indiana National Guard and also wanted to know more about the Patriot Program.

A: Thank you for your inquiry. How you have described the procedure is exactly how it is done. Fat is removed from the waistline and flanks and then transferred by injection to the buttocks. The issue with buttock augmentation with fat injections is how much fat will survive afterwards and how much of a size improvement will there be. The first part of the procedure, fat reduction, is assured in that you can be guaranteed your waistline and stomach areas will be less full and have less fat.

The other issue with the Brazilian Butt Lift, also known as fat injections to the buttocks, is whether enough fat can be transferred to create the size that you want. Unlike a buttock implant, where the size increase can be bigger and its postoperative volume increase stable, fat injections may or may not be be to reach your buttock size increase goal. However, the ‘ying anf yang’ effect of a smaller waistline helps the buttocks look bigger and more shapely regardless.

The Patriot Plastic Surgery program provides free consultations and surgery fee discounts to all those that quality.

Dr. Barry Eppley

Indianapolis Indiana

Q: Hi, I have two babies born via c-sections. Is it safe to have a Brazilian butt lift even though I have had these c-sections? My youngest baby is 5 months old and I am still breastfeeding. Should I  I stop breastfeeding before surgery? How long in advance should I stop my breastfeeding before having the surgery? Thank you.

A: The Brazilian Butt Lift, a bit of a misnomer but this is how the procedure has been branded, is buttock augmentation with fat injections. It has gotten this branded name because it was developed and popularized in South America where the aesthetics of the buttocks is highly regarded. It ‘lifts’ the buttocks per se by adding fat volume, not by cutting and lifting tissues in the traditional sense. Having c-sections on the abdomen does not in any way interfere with having this buttock procedure and one does not affect the other. Fat may be taken from the stomach area to be transferred to the buttocks but a c-section does not interfere with that process.

Breastfeeding, however, is a different matter. There is no reason to be having elective plastic surgery while one is still breastfeeding. There is a very remote chance of drugs from surgery passing through to the infant through the breast milk. Once none of these drugs are likely harmful to the infant, why take any chance even as remote as that possibility is. One should stop breastfeeding at least one month prior to any elective surgery. In addition, you really want your body totally focused on healing from the surgery and not having its energies split between healing and producing breast milk.

Dr. Barry Eppley

Indianapolis, Indiana