Just How Dangerous Is a Brazilian Butt Lift?

Plastic surgery procedure

What Is a BBL?

Why Is It Called a Brazilian Butt Lift?

How Much Does a BBL Cost?

Who Is a Candidate for a BBL?

What Is BBL Recovery Like?

How Long Does a BBL Last?

Why Is the BBL So Dangerous?

Is the BBL Worth It?

Can BBLs Be Reversed?

Is There a Safer BBL Alternative?

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Just How Dangerous Is a Brazilian Butt Lift?

Plastic surgery procedure

You can exercise your way to bigger, more chiseled glutes. But for those wanting immediate or more dramatic results, there’s the option of a Brazilian butt lift (BBL).

Plastic surgery procedure

It’s become one of the most popular plastic surgery procedures—but it’s also the deadliest. Even so, according to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, the BBL continues to increase in popularity.

Plastic surgery procedure

Using a combination of liposuction and fat grafting, a successful BBL results in added volume, defined curves, and a butt lift. Sound familiar?

Plastic surgery procedure

Many point to the popularity of influencers as one of the main sources of the procedure’s steady rise. But there are serious concerns about whether this surgery should continue after reports surfaced that the death rate following a BLL may be a terrifying 1 in 3,000.

What Is a BBL?

What Is a BBL?

Once the patient is positioned on the operating room table facedown and under anesthesia, the liposuction is performed in the desired areas and the fat is collected in a specialized system that separates live fat cells from liposuction fluid.

What Is a BBL?

That fat is then injected into the marked areas of the butt. Shafer says that surgeons will sometimes graft fat into the thighs or hips, depending on what body shape the patient wants.

What Is a BBL?

The procedure requires a few very small incisions that are sutured closed at the end.

What Is a BBL?

What Is a BBL?

“The procedure’s visibility on social media and in popular culture may also contribute to its growing popularity.”

Why Is It Called a Brazilian Butt Lift?

Plastic surgery as a practice has many roots in Brazil, and Brazilian plastic surgeon Ivo Pitanguy is largely credited with creating the procedure. That said, the BBL as we know it has evolved quite a bit over the last several decades.

Why Is It Called a Brazilian Butt Lift?

“The procedure’s visibility on social media and in popular culture may also contribute to its growing popularity.”

How Much Does a BBL Cost?

Devgan says that the cost of a BBL can vary depending on the provider performing the surgery and where you live, but typically, one lift can range anywhere from $3,000 to $30,000.

How Much Does a BBL Cost?

If that range seems wide, it’s because many people go to “chop shops” (yes, that’s actually what they’re called) that do these surgeries at a high frequency, with—more than likely—less expertise.

How Much Does a BBL Cost?

“To ensure that they are going to a reputable surgeon, patients can look at the surgeon’s board certification,” Lin advises. “Board certification by the American Board of Plastic Surgery is a sign that the surgeon has undergone extensive training

How Much Does a BBL Cost?

and continued maintenance of certification in plastic and reconstructive surgery, which includes cosmetic surgery.”

How Much Does a BBL Cost?

Lin also notes that the location of the doctor and surgery is just as important to consider. “A reputable surgeon will perform surgery at a certified surgery center with a board-certified anesthesiologist or at a hospital,” he says.

How Much Does a BBL Cost?

And be wary of the lure of going outside the United States just because it can be done at a lesser price. “The prices may seem tempting, but there are associated costs such as travel, lodging, return flights, and also follow-up care,”

How Much Does a BBL Cost?

he says. “Additionally, countries offering bargain plastic surgery do not have the stringent ethical and patient safety requirement that are followed by board-certified plastic surgeons.”

Who Is a Candidate for a BBL?

Shafer says that some patients just don’t have enough excess body fat for a BBL. “Curvy patients have fat available for harvesting through liposuction and enhancing their buttocks and thighs to fit their body type,” he says.

Who Is a Candidate for a BBL?

Devgan recommends patients be healthy adults within 15 pounds of their goal weight. Before surgery, you’ll also need to have medical clearance from your general practitioner.

Who Is a Candidate for a BBL?

Shafer explains that doctors will make sure that you’re healthy for surgery and screen for risk factors associated with surgical complications, such as blood clotting disorders and any cardiovascular issues.

What Is BBL Recovery Like?

Shafer says that recovery happens in three stages: first few days, first several weeks, and first several months. During the first few days, you can generally go back to work. During the first several weeks, most of the swelling reduces and the bruising starts to heal.

What Is BBL Recovery Like?

This is when you can go back to the gym and are approved for travel. The last stage is where any remaining swelling will resolve and the transferred fat has pretty much settled.

How Long Does a BBL Last?

Expectations need to be managed: The results are only semipermanent. Shafer and Devgan note that only up to 80 percent of the grafted fat survives, so many patients may need to revise some aspect of the surgery in the future.

How Long Does a BBL Last?

“In most cases, 70 to 80 percent of the grafted fat survives, while some of it absorbs,” Shafer says.

How Long Does a BBL Last?

"The length of time a BBL lasts is dependent on the percentage of the injected fat that engrafts," explains Garfein. "If 100 percent of a liter of injected fat survives, the patient will have an extra liter of fat in her buttocks. If 50 percent survives, she will have 500 cc."

How Long Does a BBL Last?

In addition, those fat cells act like any others in the body: "Once the fat engrafts, the patient should have those cells there forever.

How Long Does a BBL Last?

If she gains weight, those surviving cells will accumulate more fat and get bigger. If she loses weight, those surviving fat cells will shrink and get smaller," explains Garfein.

Why Is the BBL So Dangerous?

Frankly, patients are dying on the table from botched procedures. "In the case of BBLs, fat is usually injected into the space between the skin and the muscles (this is called the subcutaneous space), but occasionally, it is injected into the muscles," explains Garfein.

Why Is the BBL So Dangerous?

"Part of the risk associated with this procedure is that there are very large blood vessels in the buttock muscles. If fat is inadvertently injected into one of these vessels, it can travel to the heart and lungs, resulting in death."

Why Is the BBL So Dangerous?

This results in cardiopulmonary collapse, which is oftentimes not reversible or treatable. Studies show that from 2011 to 2016, there were 25 Brazilian butt lift-related deaths.

Why Is the BBL So Dangerous?

In 2017, a plastic surgery task force reported that three percent of plastic surgeons who performed the procedure had a patient die. Although some surveys estimate that the rate has gone down, it’s still important to be aware of the danger.

Why Is the BBL So Dangerous?

“The mortality rate from BBL is estimated to be as high as 1 in 3,000. This is greater than any other cosmetic surgery,” Lin says. “Any patient considering BBL should be informed of the risk of death from this procedure.”

Why Is the BBL So Dangerous?

For some surgeons, the high risk rules the procedure out completely. “This is a level of risk that is extremely alarming and totally unacceptable for an elective cosmetic procedure,” Devgan says.

Why Is the BBL So Dangerous?

“That risk of death is a statistic that factors in the outcomes of highly trained American board-certified plastic surgeons, so this is not just an issue of who is doing the surgery; it is a risk inherent to the operation.”

Why Is the BBL So Dangerous?

The experts again stress the importance of doing your research to find a highly qualified surgeon. “There are risks involved with the injection of the fat, and this is where training and experience is so important,” Shafer says.

Why Is the BBL So Dangerous?

“If the fat is injected too deep or in the wrong area, the fat can enter the bloodstream and can cause issues such as pulmonary embolus or clotting.”

Is the BBL Worth It?

Devgan and Shafer differ on whether this procedure is something anyone should try at all. “This is my litmus test, my personal golden rule of plastic surgery: If you wouldn’t let your mother or sister or brother have a procedure, you shouldn’t let your patients either,” Devgan says.

Is the BBL Worth It?

“The Brazilian butt lift is an operation that I do not perform any longer, because the mortality data speaks for itself. The risk benefit calculus simply does not add up.”

Is the BBL Worth It?