This Plastic Surgery Procedure That Promises to Give You Six-Pack Abs Is Ridiculous

Forget clean eating and slaving away at the gym: The latest liposuction procedure promises to give you flawless six-pack abs without hard work or willpower. Sound too good to be true? Yeah, it pretty much is.

The procedure, called "abdominal etching," involves suctioning fat from specific parts of the abdomen, which then reveals a person's natural abdominal lines, according to an article published this month in the journal Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery. Patients can choose a more defined, chiseled look, or can opt for a natural, smooth appearance. But as you’d imagine, bypassing the gym for this surgical shortcut has its repercussions.

The article reveals that while the procedure has the potential to make your belly look like Channing Tatum's, it's not without risks. The surgery can leave you with nerve and muscle damage, not to mention infection if the procedure goes wrong. And don’t think that etching will solve your body-image issues, either. If you want to keep that rock-solid physique, you’re still going to have to hit the gym on a regular basis.

Before undergoing abdominal etching, a patient’s height, weight, and BMI will be taken into consideration, as well as their health history. People who have had plastic surgery before on their abdomen are at risk for developing skin necrosis (you know, when your skin tissue dies and you’re left with gaping holes in your body). Moreover, the procedure results in swelling for the first two weeks, and it takes two to three months to fully heal.

Moral of the story? Though the procedure exists, we say skip it. Your own abs are the way to go.