Brazilian Butt Lift

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Brazilian Butt Lift: What is it?

To enhance the appearance of the buttock the traditional tool was to place buttock implants. Solid or semisolid implants were placed within the buttock muscles using an incision in the upper buttock crease. Recovery was uncomfortable and complications such as infection were not uncommon. The Brazilian Butt Lift arrived on the scene about 5 years ago. Rather than use painful implants we started using fat from other parts of the body to achieve similar goals and it worked. It’s basically like the reverse of liposuction where fat from other areas is injected into the buttock to change its shape.

Like any operation it has some special thinking and considerations- so here’s my take: I use this technique to make sexy butts, not over the top gigantic butts. Curves and sexy are in, but sticking in fat just to make balloons just doesn’t appeal to me. I really think of this as buttock contouring. It’s not just about the fat that we add it’s about the fat that we remove as well.

Patient Considerations:

A patient for this surgery needs to have enough fat in other areas that can be removed and used in the buttocks. A patient who is very thin may still need to turn to buttock implants. Some doctors advise their patients to gain weight for this surgery. I think that it’s the death of common sense to try to gain weight. As many of us know it’s incredibly hard to lose it again, and the fat that is grafted will get smaller if you do lose the weight. Just be who you are and be healthy. The area where the fat is removed by liposuction needs to have good skin elasticity. If the skin is loose, liposuction will make it looser and there is no sense in making one area look worse only to make the buttock look better. Patients must be tolerant of the outcome: The areas where fat is removed are predictable-the fat is gone. But the fat that is transferred will not all remain, about 40 percent will be reabsorbed by the body over the first six months. Because of this I use special techniques to harvest the fat in an effort to keep as much alive as possible. When possible I aim for over correction of the area knowing that some of the fat will go away.

Common questions:

How do I know if I’m a candidate? In the consultation, I evaluate the entire patient, not just the buttocks. The goal is to make sure that you are healthy, have enough fat, good enough skin tone. I will often draw on the buttock pointing out high points and low points to be contoured. As a teaching tool, I will sometimes use computer imaging as well. How long is the recovery? In general patients are up and about within a few days. We recommend using a cushion under the thighs to take pressure off the grafted area when sitting. We like patients to sleep on their stomachs for a few weeks if possible to take pressure off the grafted area. When will I know if my results last? In most cases if the changes are present at six months there will be little change beyond that point. Can I have a Tummy Tuck and Brazilian Butt Lift at the same time? Short answer is yes. Some surgeons prefer not to do the fat grafting at the same time as a tummy tuck. They feel that post operatively there is more pressure on the buttocks causing more fat reabsorption. While to some extent this may be true, I do them together when patients are good tummy tuck candidates. The lower abdominal skin and fat is thrown away in a tummy tuck. It is often an excellent site to harvest fat from, so in my opinion why would you want to waste it? With or without tummy tuck, I still have my patients rest on their thighs more than the buttocks.