Carlos Mercado, MD

I want to share my experience with Dr. Carlos Mercado for anyone who might be interested in the future. To give you some context, I traveled all the way from Barranquilla, Colombia to have liposuction and fat transfer to my face and joints with him back in 2016. While I could have chosen another physician in Colombia to perform these procedures, I specifically chose Dr. Mercado because he offers liposuction without the use of general anesthesia, which made me feel much more comfortable and confident in my decision. Now, nine years later, I am incredibly grateful for having received such excellent care and for having found such a talented professional. My friends often ask me how I manage to keep my face looking so youthful, and I owe it all to the innovative techniques developed by Dr. Mercado. In addition, I had started to experience some discomfort in my joints due to my age, and the treatment I received years ago has provided me with great relief. As someone who loves to travel, I truly believe this treatment made it possible for me to continue enjoying life the way I do. Today, I just want to say thank you a thousand times over for Dr. Mercado's expertise, kindness, and humanity. I will forever be grateful to him and the wonderful staff at Eterna MD.

Dr.Mercado and his staff are wonderful. My experience was amazing and my results are shockingly good. I am so happy with my results. I will not use any one else. Dr Mercado corrected what another doctor messed up. I had lipo 360 and J Plasma. His staff is also very personable and professional

I initially booked a procedure in south Florida an my clients convinced me to tat in my area and get the procedure done. I can say my experience with Dr Mercado for my procedure was awesome. This was even more surprising because my procedure was completed following a very stressful time (COVID 19 pandemic) and Dr Mercado and his staff took all the necessary precautions to ensure my safety and theirs. I had a lot of scar tissue from having previous procedures but Dr Mercado worked tirelessly to ensure he delivered. I'm on day 2 and while I slightly sore I'm not in excruciating pain. Dr Mercados staff reached out today and to my surprise they said Dr Mercado wanted to speak to me and transferred me to him directly this was very surprising because normally you don't speak with the dr until your follow up for like 30 seconds where they say you look good an see you next time. Dr Mercado actually was very chipper on the call ( I listen to tones of voice) and asked I was doing and was surprised how up beat I sounded after going through so much in regard to how much scar tissue I had. If you don't know what scar tissue I like in a procedure it may like trying to get through almost set cement (slightly over exaggerated). All and all I'm so far very please with my experience. I can't say more good things about my procedure experience. I'm very happy and can't wait for my swelling to go down . Dr Mercado is absolutely a go too for liposculpture.

I am in the process of post-lipo treatments including lymphatic drainage massage, ultrasound therapy and carboxytherapy. Each session is $75 for all treatments over 50 minutes. I’d never heard of carboxytherapy until I started the post-lipo treatments. The Colombian staff at the doctor’s office convinced me it is extremely helpful in speeding up healing and minimizing fibrosis, which I had after my first lipo. All I can say is OUCH. 4 pinpricks into each area being treated. That isn’t bad, but the carbon dioxide going in is painful They told me it would sting or burn for a few seconds, but I will say it was almost unbearable and hurts and burns when the CO2 is in. It is too early for me to see results, but all I can think about is the pain when I am doing it. I have two more sessions and the lymphatic massage feels good but I dread the Carboxytherapy.

I had a BBL done in Miami two years ago for my 30th birthday. Recovery was hard and painful but I loved my results for about 16 months. However, the fat dropped and looked fake and odd-shaped even though I weighed the same, had good skin quality, and got only a moderate amount transferred for a natural look. I originally went to Dr. Mercado for a liposuction revision consultation due to a lot of fibrotic tissue, but decided against it because of the cost. Recently I decided to go through with a revision because I became so self-conscious about how I looked I leggings and people constantly asking if my butt is fake. I finally did it this past Saturday and even though I am still swollen I already see a major difference and am much happier. Updated on 16 Apr 2019: Adding pics. Less projection and fat on lower pole. He said he removed about 200 cc on one cheek and 150 cc on the other. Updated on 24 Dec 2019: Initially I was happy with the results of a very conservative revision the the understanding that more could be taken it later. I also was under the impression that a revision would only be $1000 per area if I did end up wanting more taken out. After the swelling settled, I realized it was still too big, unnatural, and uneven, so I went for a follow up Dr. Mercado and expressed my concerns. He agreed that more could be taken and Jared ran the quote. He came back with a quote of $8000. I asked him about the revision costs given to me up front and said they said 1000 per area. Jared talked to the doctor and he said that because it was a difficult area, that was the reason for the high quote. I walked out of there pissed and hav decided to never use Dr. Mercado again, because if I had known a revision would cost another 8k, I would have gone somewhere else. I felt like they were trying to squeeze me for money rather than make me a happy patient. I have done a 180 on my feelings towards this practice and will not be back. Updated on 11 Jan 2020: This is long ladies. I am adding tons of pics to show you my full journey. I am self conscious now and realize I never take pics anymore because my body will never look as as it did before all my surgery mistakes. Any advice to ladies looking to do a BBL, just don’t. The revisions and upkeep necessary is not anything they tell you in the beginning. Any weight fluctuation at all, even 5 pounds, really can ruin your results. I did it in March of 2017 and here I am in 2020 looking back realizing I had a great body that just required diet and consistent weight lifting. I didn’t need all this. My revisions and original surgery have cost me around 20k over the past three years and mentally I am defeated. I am self conscious about dating now because my butt looks weird and I have lipo scars everywhere. My second revision doctor Meegan Gruber did an amazing job, but she was honest that it would never look natural again and I would have some sagging. I’m three weeks out from my last revision and it is sagging and still projects too much, but for now I will wait and see 6 months from now and focus on losing weight. Ask tons of questions, it is all too much to type. Updated on 11 Jan 2020: More before pics 2014-2017. I had a good body. What was I thinking. Updated on 11 Jan 2020: I was happy with the initial outcome in March 2017. Updated on 11 Jan 2020: It looked good but took a year for swelling to go down. Updated on 11 Jan 2020: Updated on 11 Jan 2020: Conservative removal of round 150-200 cc each side looked good initially Updated on 11 Jan 2020: Updated on 11 Jan 2020: I wish I never had any plastic surgery. I was beautiful and didn’t realize it. I hide my body all the time now, feel insecure, and always think people are talking about my diaper booty. I look so ghetto and unprofessional with this dumb thing in business clothes. Updated on 11 Jan 2020: Right now it isn’t bad. I look like I have a nice shape. I am not getting excited thought because after my first revision it started sagging more. I will update as more weeks go by. At this point at least I am not embarrassed to go to the gym. Updated on 8 Feb 2020: Updated on 14 Feb 2020: My butt is still too big. The back view is much better than it was and it no longer looks saggy, but the projection is just too much still. I started back weight lifting three weeks ago and I still am so self conscious in the gym. I am jealous of all the cute muscle butts in the gym that I had before. I want to lift because I am so afraid of it looking saggy again, but at the same time it still projects too much an looks unnatural. I am going to follow up with Dr. Gruber and see if she will remove more for a small fee since I just paid full price in December. I hate no being able to wear bodycon dresses and pencil skirts. I am shaped like a P in my side profile. I feel so silly and unsexy still. Updated on 3 May 2020: It’s been 4 months since I had my BBL reduced for the second time. It is still too big and looks saggy and has too much projection, but it definitely has improved. I am working on losing weight and doing cardio so that I don’t build up any more muscle and make my butt look bigger. This sucks because I love lifting weights. Overall my front profile is still nice, except my fat gain goes to my armpits and arms now. The back is improved but I miss my old pre-surgery body still. I have started dating a new man seriously and haven’t told him why I have all these scars, but I know he has wondered. We are talking about having a baby in the next two to three years, so for now I will leave my body as is. I a honestly frightened of what my butt will look like during pregnancy. I think I will probably get a mommy makeover once I am done having kids. Updated on 3 May 2020: I have gained a couple of pounds from stress and honestly pure laziness with my eating. My lipo áreas are definitely all thicker than they used to be but overall shape is still nice. 166 lbs, 5’5” , 33 years old Updated on 6 May 2020: From the side or below you can see it is kind of saggy. But I am working out again and gaining confidence. Updated on 9 May 2020: I am honestly so self conscious about my butt that I never wear a suit anymore or go swimming or to the beach and I live in Florida I look great from some angles and I know everyone here tells me it is fine. I bought a regular bikini today and you can see how my butt looks droopy even after two reductions and corrections. Thong bottoms look better because it draws the eye away from the sagginess. I’m not saying it looks horrible but there is something just off enough for people to stare and think it looks strange. I think I lack volume at the top of the cheek and this is why it makes my cheeks look short and saggy.

Wonderful doctor. Great bes manners listen to your needs and provides outstanding post ops care. Knowledgeable and dedicated to his patiences. Could have made a better choice. I refer him to my family and friends and will definitely ise him again!

I had been to Dr. Mercado previously for a consult on a liposuction revision. I didn’t end up following through on the procedure due to finances and wanting to lose some weight through exercise instead. However, I recently did a same-day consult and procedure for PDO threadlift for my cheeks. I had researched this before and thought it could give me what I’m looking for but I wasn’t sure as I’ve never had fillers or any injections before. I am almost 32 and just now starting to notice subtle effects of gravity and aging. I still look young and have supple skin but felt that I had been looking a little jowly and tired but couldn’t pinpoint exactly why. We did the consult and marking we decided on a cheeklift with the threads for my nasolabial folds. It ended up being 4 barbed threads in each cheek. So far I am really happy with the results. My face looks slightly lifted, cheekbones more defined, sharper jawline, and corners of mouth upturned. I wasn’t sure if I saw results but people have been commenting how good my makeup looks and how pretty I’ve been looking all week and if I lost weight. The power of this is that the results are subtle so not enough for people to know you did something but enough to visually look refreshed. The only marks were small pinpricks on my upper cheeks that will close and heal in a couple more days. I did have one complication where the barb on one of the threads near my mouth turned and was visible as a small bump near my mouth. We attempted to fix it but it ended up leaving it more swollen and bruised than before. I am going back in two weeks to check on the progress. They say swelling takes two weeks but I feel that I will still have swelling for longer as I’m still puffy. I will say that for me the procedure was not painless. The threads near my mouth hurt significantly during placement and my face also hurts and has some stinging, swelling, and pain/soreness all over. Again this is NOT PAINLESS. However it is manageable. I hope my results last more than a year but we will see. I would definitely do it again. I don’t believe this procedure is worth it for people with significant sagging or looking for a drastic change. A regular facelift would be more cost effective over time. Updated on 4 Jan 2019: I am finally past the initial pain and I believe most of the swelling has gone down. I was in a lot of pain for two weeks, with swelling, shooting pain in my cheeks and near my mouth, and got feeling in my cheeks. My skin looks tighter and my cheekbones look higher, and the doctor told me it would continue to improve after collagen started forming. I did have a complication on the left side where one of the threads was placed too superficially near my mouth, leaving an annoying and visible bump, and he had to poke a hole in my face with a cannula to try to pull it out and remove it. We did this twice at my 2 week follow up and 4 week follow up. It was quite painful and eventually he was able to clip the thread and pull it out. It left a huge bruise and swelling for 10 days and now there is a light scar. Overall I’m still happy with the results but I think I still could use some cheek filler to completely get rid of my nasolabial folds. I don’t know if I would do it again as the pain and tightness was more than I anticipated. Updated on 2 Mar 2019: I think the pain and cost overall was it worth it in the end. I saw some improvement an no longer have pain, but my cheeks and nasolabial folds still exist and I am going to get consult for a cheek lift with filler only I do not think I would do this again as filler seems less painful and lasts just as long.

No words to describe how grateful I am with Dr Mercado and staff. He help me get the body that I wanted with excellent results. Candid, just a great professional that loves what he does and expressed through his hands. I totally recommend Dr Mercado ten thousand times more

I had a very innovated procedure performed by Dr Mercado: transfer fat (processed to obtain stem cells) from my abdomen (liposuction) to my arthritic right knee due to previous surgey to repair a torn anterior cruciate ligament and my face to take care of the effects of aging on the face. The results: excellent. The best part of the whole process: no general anesthesia; no down time. I had the procedure done on Saturday afternoon. I was back To work on Monday.

2nd procedure with Dr Mercado I just keep going back. This doctor is a gem in the Orlando area. This time he worked on high volume lipo on my thighs. What a fantastic job. I was wearing a size 22 at one time and now getting into 16. Legs had alot of volume reduction and with the new technology of the JPLASMA technique it tightened the skin so that it is not hanging at all. I would recommend staying in orlando and not traveling out of the country and having follow ups with Dr Mercado , he will continue to follow up for several months after your procedure. Updated on 16 Aug 2018: Here are a few pics from Dr. Mercado’s work. This is showing the volume that was removed. Dr Mercado will remove volume until he feels that it looks just perfect to him! It’s been 6 months from surgery and they have healed up just perfectly. I am extremely happy with the results Updated on 12 Sep 2018: Have to say i'm super excited with both of my results after surgery with Dr. Mercado in Lake Mary. Dr. Mercado's great follow up visits, he wants to make sure you are happy with the outcome and I really am. The legs have completely healed after 6 months and the volume taken out left me with half the amount of fat I had in my legs! I literally have gone down about 6 pants sizes. The stomach and back areas are perfect and I couldn't ask for more. I think due to the JPLASMA it has kept the skin nice and tight and there is no skin hanging. Very Very happy