With the recent trend of celebrities showing off more full behinds, Brazilian butt lifts, also called a BBL, have grown tremendously in popularity. A Brazilian butt lift gives the buttocks a more desirable shape using liposuction to remove unwanted fat and transferring it into the butt for volume. Your doctor will lipo the fat from the back, love handles, abdomen and other undesired areas and then carefully and evenly inject the fat into the butt, creating a smooth, round shape.
After the procedure, there will be some soreness and bruising in the areas where the liposuction was performed. You’ll need to wear a compression garment following the lipo to contour the area but that does not compress the buttock areas that were injected with the fat. The downtime for a procedure like this is approximately 2 weeks. During the first two weeks you’ll want to avoid sitting on your butt and will spend the majority of your time on your stomach, side or standing. After 2 weeks, most people can return to work. Over the next several months some of the fat injected will not be retained by the body, so this will slightly reduce the size of the final result.
Another well-known option to increase the size of the butt is butt implants. Butt implants do provide an immediate result that does not change over time, however there is a much higher risk of complications than a procedure using fat transfer. Your fat is your body’s own substance, so you’re not introducing any foreign materials into the body. Also, the area where the incision is placed has a much higher risk of infections, which is not an issue during a fat transfer. In addition to these risks, having an implant in your bottom creates a risk of rupture in the event of a fall. When we slip and fall, we frequently land on our bottoms and too much pressure on those implants can cause a rupture. Due to the number of complications associated with butt implants, most patients find fat transfer to be the better option.
Sculptra is another procedure that has recently become popular to give the appearance of a full derriere. Sculptra is a filler that’s ‘injected into the areas of the butt that need more volume. Over time, this product induces your body to create more collagen. As with any dermal filler, this product is only temporary and typically requires a significant amount of product to achieve the desired result. Having a butt augmentation using Sculptra can be very expensive and the results are not permanent. Because of this, it is the least common method of butt augmentation.
While your doctor will discuss all of your options with you, most patients find that a BBL is the best way to achieve a nicely contoured derriere. The key to having a successful procedure and getting the results you want is finding an experienced, board certified plastic surgeon.
Schedule a consultation with one of our award-winning plastic surgeons to discuss the best options for your body goals.
