BBL: Brazilian Buttock Lift
The BBL involves a major lipofilling procedure that suctions the fat from the tissue surrounding the buttocks to lift them and increase their volume without any scars.
This procedure helps to balance and redefine the figure by removing excess fat (love handles, sides, saddlebags, back, etc.) and increasing the volume of the buttocks. The volume injected can range from 250 to 2 000 cc of fat.
As with any body lipofilling, this procedure can only be performed if the patient has enough fatty areas to take adequate tissue to be reinjected. This surgery cannot be performed on very thin patients. To achieve a significant increase in volume, buttock implants must be used.
The main advantage of the Brazilian Buttock Lift, apart from the natural result both visually and to the touch, is that it uses the patient’s own body fat, which is removed from the areas where it is in excess, to completely reshape the body. In some cases, it is necessary to warn the patient that the procedure may require two operations 3 to 6 months apart to optimise the result as the quantity transferable per procedure is limited by the elasticity of the buttock tissue.
Before surgery
Patients should stop smoking to optimize the chances of the grafted fat cells taking. Not all the cells grafted will survive and the body naturally eliminates those that die within a few weeks. Those that survive will remain in place for life and will behave in the same way as those in the area where the fat was sucked out.
Iron supplements may be prescribed in the case of low or relatively low hemoglobin levels as liposuction automatically results in a decrease in the level of red blood cells.
The procedure
Buttock lipofilling or Brazilian Buttock Lift is always performed under general anesthesia and lasts one to four hours. This may be performed as an outpatient procedure for minor liposuction but will include an overnight stay when over 2 liters are suctioned.
After surgery
The reinjected fat follows the natural weight changes in the areas from which it was removed, which is why the fat must be removed from areas that do not decrease with the sligthest change in weight. Weight should remain as stable as possible to avoid altering the result, which will stabilize after six months. The appearance after six months is the final result as long as the patient maintains a stable weight.
It is also important to note that it may take two operations to achieve optimal results. A second lipofilling procedure may be performed after six months because the amount of fat suctioned for reinjection is inadequate (no more than 5 liters of fat).
After a Brazilian Buttock Lift, pain is quite severe for one week. Normal activities can commence about 8 days after surgery.
An anticoagulant to prevent phlebitis or pulmonary embolism will be prescribed for around ten days.
Another complication that has been widely publicised recently is the risk of a fat embolism, in other words, the injection of fact into a blood vessel that can at worst result in death. This complication is now totally prevented by respecting the rules for injecting fat, which is strictly limited to subcutaneous injections without injecting into the gluteal muscle.
A compression garment must be worn for approximately one month, especially to limit edema (swelling) in the areas where the fat was sucked out, and manual draining by a specialist practitioner is recommended to accelerate the disappearance of the swelling and the pain.
In general, sport can be resumed after 8 days and buttock exercises are encouraged to optimize the result of the procedure.
All general information about lipofilling is available on the lipofilling page.