What's involved with a Brazilian Buttocks Lift (BBL)?
A Brazilian Buttocks Lift is a bit of a misnomer since it does not actually involve ‘lifting’ tissue and cutting out excess skin, like a facelift or breast lift would. A BBL essentially involves fat grafting, or fat transfer in which the borrowed fat is taken out via liposuction and then injected into the buttocks and hip regions to provide better shape and projection to the buttocks. The fat is typically taken from the abdomen, flanks, waist, upper and lower back, or inner thighs, or from a combination of these areas, such as with Lipo360, where there is generally good quality fat for transfer. Once removed from these areas, the fat cells are permanently gone, and only with significant weight gain would the fat deposit back into these areas.
In order to maximize the “graft take” (or survival of the fat cells) in their new location, a very careful process of centrifuging the fat is undertaken. The fat is spun down to help separate any blood cells, serum, and inflammatory cells from the actual fat. This allows the purified ‘clean’ fat cells to then be injected with small needles to the buttocks without placing any scars. There is the added bonus of being able to ‘steal’ fat from other areas of the body where there may be some excess fat which can help improve the contour through lipo-sculpting. One important consideration with a BBL is to improve the proportions to a more aesthetically-pleasing ratio. This is done to correct the waist-to-hip ratio, and the proportion of buttocks projection relative to the length. Sometimes there are areas on the hips that appear hallowed out (hip dips) that can be corrected to create a curvier more hour-glass figure that gives you back your confidence.
Dr. Sharma will sit down with you to discuss your goals for the surgery and the look you are hoping to achieve. Most patients are interested in a natural appearance and we strive to get you the look that you deserve.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Am I a Good Candidate?
Good candidates for this procedure are women who:
- have sufficient areas of fat on their bodies to use as ‘donor sites’
- want an all-natural way to enhance volume to the buttocks and hips without the use of any implants
- are self-conscious about the lack of volume and projection of the buttocks and want to improve their shape, volume, and contour
- are physically healthy to undergo surgery and have realistic expectations
- want to have a minimally invasive procedure that can provide long-lasting stable results
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How much fat can be transferred?
There are a variety of factors that go into determining this. Dr. Sharma will discuss this with you, since it is different for each individual. Some factors that play an important role in determining the amount of fat that can be safely transferred to a particular area include:
- how much ‘recipient site’ volume you have to start with in the buttocks and hips that can ‘accept’ the transferred fat in order to provide blood supply to the new fat cells
- how much fat you have in ‘donor areas’ and in which locations
- if there has been previous liposuction done in the past
- your personal measurements including any asymmetries, skin excess, your height/weight, and body habitus
- your goals and expectations
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What happens on the day of surgery?
Surgery takes place in the operating room with you asleep under a general anesthetic, and can take around 3 hours. Markings are first made before going into the OR to plan the areas of fat extraction with liposuction, and the areas to inject the fat into the buttocks and hip regions. Once you are asleep tiny 0.5cm incisions are made very carefully to suction out the fat and smoothen out any contour irregularities. The fat is then collected in a canister and centrifuged then transferred into syringes and injected in multiple planes throughout the buttocks region in the subcutaneous plane through very small needle holes, without putting any scars in these recipient sites. The technique is done to allow for maximum fat survival and to minimize fat necrosis. The small incisions are closed. All of the stitches are dissolving underneath the skin to give you the best possible scars. Drainage tubes are generally not required. There is no fat injected into the muscle layers to avoid complications with fat embolism. Paper tapes and gauze dressings are applied. You are placed into compression garments that we give you at the end of your surgery to provide support and minimize bruising/swelling. After surgery, you will be in the recovery room for a couple of hours and monitored closely. All post-operative instructions and prescriptions will be given to you before going home. You will be able to go home the same day of surgery with a responsible adult.
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What happens after surgery?
Recovery is a gradual process. You are encouraged to take it easy but still get up frequently for short walks to reduce the risk of blood clots in the legs from immobility. The first 1-2 days you may need some of the prescribed pain medications, and will be recovering from the anesthetic and medications you were given. Most patients are needing only Tylenol or Advil after that. You will be able to shower directly over the paper tapes after 2 days. Generally it is a good idea to take 1 week off work, depending on what type of work you do. You will need to avoid excessive periods of sitting. At 3-4 weeks from surgery you will typically feel fully recovered. You will have to avoid heavy lifting and vigorous exercise up until about 6 weeks from surgery. The final shape and contour can take up to 3 months before all residual swelling is resolved.
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Is a BBL safe?
A Brazial Buttocks Lift is safe to do as long as the fat is injected between the skin layer and above the muscle layer. Injection of fat below the deep fascia layer and into the muscle is unsafe and can lead to problems with fat embolism, in which fat can get into the deep veins. To avoid this risk, the fat is carefully injected above the gluteus muscles which has been shown to be very safe and effective.
It is important to note that there is an upper limit to how much fat can be safely transferred to the buttocks and hip areas, and it can be different for each individual patient. Much like planting individual seeds in the soil to obtain a good crop, if the fat is not carefully ‘planted’ in multiple rows throughout the buttocks region in small quantities in order to be nourished with new blood supply, then survival of the ‘crop’ will be poor. Over-ambitious fat transfer can lead to fat necrosis, oil cysts, abscesses, and poor survival of the fat. In order to maximize the survival of the fat, Dr. Sharma methodically places the fat cells in order to obtain around 80% fat graft survival. Once the fat has established a blood supply it stays forever. If there is significant weight gain or loss, the fat in the new recipient area may also fluctuate in a similar manner. Because it is your own body’s natural tissue, there are no issues with any rejection, or concerns with a foreign substance inside you.
Dr. Sharma will be able to discuss Brazilian Buttocks Lift in more detail with you, and review all of your options to ensure that you are making a fully informed decision.
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