Key facts about Brazilian butt lift surgery
- Brazilian Butt Lift surgery, also known as Buttock Augmentation uses your own fat to give you a lifted and larger butt.
- Liposuction is used to reinject your own fat cells into your butt and is harvested mainly from your abdomen, thighs or back. This fat is purified and cleaned before being reinjected into your buttocks. It is important to note that you may require multiple procedures to achieve your desired result.
- Post-surgery, the treated area will be swollen and bruised. While bruising gradually dissipates you will see changes to the area as soon as the compression garment is removed. You will need to wear this for at least 6 weeks after the surgery. It can take weeks or even months for the swelling and inflammation to resolve and to reveal your new butt.
- Most patients need at least 2 weeks off work. You will not be able to sit down after the surgery unless you use a special pillow.
- Common side effects of Brazilian butt lift surgery include deformity, lumps, infection and pain.
What is a butt lift?
A butt lift refers to all of the cosmetic surgery procedures that improve the appearance of the butt, or buttocks. It can involve a superior gluteal lift, an inferior gluteal lift, butt silicon implants, fat injection and grafting, and even injection of other filler materials.
Butt lift surgery can tighten and lift loose or sagging skin that exercise won’t address.
What is a Brazilian butt lift?
Over the past few years, a specific variation of a butt lift (the Brazilian Butt Lift) has become popular particularly in the USA and Latin America where predominantly Latin and African American culture values fuller, larger butts.
The Brazilian Butt Lift is a cosmetic surgical procedure that augments your buttocks using your own fat. Fat is removed by liposuction and re-implanted into the buttocks. A Brazilian Butt Lift aims to enhance the size, shape, size, and aesthetic appeal of the butt.
The fat used for Brazilian Butt Lift surgery is taken from the waist, lower stomach area and thighs. A successful Brazilian Butt Lift surgery will result in a bigger butt and smaller waist.
Who is Brazilian butt lift surgery for?
People who have butt lift surgery can have a variety of butt shape problems. Their butt may become saggy, flat and deflated after weight loss or be full and large.
After pregnancies, it is common for the ‘love handles’ or flanks to become fuller. This results in the waist thickening and causes a ‘muffin top’. While some people inherit these shape issues, in many cases, it is due to ageing or major weight loss.
To be a candidate for Brazilian butt lift surgery, it is important that your overall health is good. If you have any neurological disorders or heart or lung conditions you may not be a good candidate for this cosmetic surgery.
Good candidates for Brazilian butt lift surgery are usually close to their ideal weight but with enough fat in the abdomen, waist, back and thighs for liposuction. To avoid sagging, it is also important that the skin in these areas has good elasticity.
In some cases your Cosmetic Surgeon may recommend you put on weight before having Brazilian butt lift surgery. They will advise what type of diet would be best.
It is important to understand that it may not be possible to create your ‘perfect butt shape’. Your Cosmetic Surgeon will discuss whether your expectations are realistic.
How is Brazilian butt lift surgery performed?
Brazilian butt lift surgery involves having a general anaesthetic and can be performed as day surgery. Some patients elect to stay overnight in hospital. While Brazilian butt lift surgery techniques vary between Cosmetic Surgeons, the three-step process of harvesting, processing and reinjection is the same.
Once body fat is extracted via liposuction, it is processed through centrifugation. After it has been purified, only the best donor fat cells will be reinjected in the butt. Tiny microinjections can occur hundreds of times at varying depths.
Some patients with a saggy butt may also choose to have a superior gluteal lift performed at the same time. This involves placing a scar near the top of the buttocks so flap surgery or fat grafting can occur. In some cases, butt implants are used.
An infragluteal butt lift can be performed if the back of the thigh near the lower butt junction is saggy. This involves placing a scar horizontally where the butt joins the leg.
After a Brazilian butt lift procedure, a compression garment must be worn for 3 weeks. If you feel stiff or sore, pain medication can be taken. To avoid excess pressure on your butt, it is vital to minimise your sitting time for 3-4 weeks after the surgery.
What are butt implants?
To change the shape of your butt, fat grafting used in Brazilian butt lifts are likely to be safest and healthiest option. It is important to note that while some fat survives the transfer, a lot does not. Keep this in mind when you are viewing before and after photos on the Internet. To get a realistic perspective on Brazilian butt lift results, we recommend you view images showing results at least 12 months after the procedure.
Butt implant surgery uses a silicon implant to add volume to the butt. This surgery carries a high risk of complications including pain, infection, deformity, and possible implant rupture. Similar to breast implant surgery, butt implants can be placed over or under gluteal muscles. Butt implants will typically only be considered if you don’t have enough fat and struggle to gain weight.
It’s very important to be aware that some unscrupulous people will inject nearly anything into the butt to increase its volume. Never consider this! There have been deaths and severe deformity with infection from butt injections with illegal or infected materials, from silicon oil to even in one USA case, concrete.
How long do Brazilian butt lift results last for?
It’s important to note that your body will naturally reabsorb and eliminate the fat that has been injected. You can expect about 60-80% of the injected fat to stay in your butt area. The reinjected fat cells will behave like the rest of the fat in your body and will be susceptible to weight changes.
To achieve long lasting results, we recommend you maintain your weight after the Brazilian butt lift procedure.
Are there risks or complications with Brazilian butt lift surgery?
It’s important to note that any surgical operation brings complications of anaesthesia. Your anaesthetist will outline the possible complications of having an anaesthetic.
General complications of every surgery include:
- Pain. Your healthcare team will give you medication to control the pain. To reduce discomfort and prevent headaches, it’s important that you take the medication.
- Blood clot in your leg (deep-vein thrombosis – DVT). This can cause pain, swelling or redness in your leg, or the veins near the surface of your leg to appear larger than normal. Your healthcare team will assess your risk. They will encourage you to get out of bed soon after the operation and may give you injections, medication, or special stockings to wear. Let the healthcare team know straightaway if you think you might have a DVT.
- Blood clot in your lung (pulmonary embolus). If a blood clot moves through your bloodstream to your lungs. If you become short of breath, feel pain in your chest or upper back, or if you cough up blood, let the healthcare team know straightaway. If you are at home, call an ambulance or go immediately to your nearest Emergency department.
What are the specific risks and complications of Brazilian butt lift surgery?
When an experienced Cosmetic Surgeon performs Brazilian butt lift surgery, the success rate is high. The common risks and complications of Brazilian butt lift surgery include:
- Anesthesia risks
- Asymmetry
- Blood clots
- Bruising
- Cellulite
- Complications of anaesthesia
- Complications of liposuction
- Deep vein thrombosis, cardiac and pulmonary complications
- Excessive loss of blood
- Fat embolism, injection of fat into the bloodstream that causes inflammation in the lungs
- Fatty tissue found deep in the skin might die (fat necrosis)
- Fluid shifts and lidocaine toxicity
- Hematoma
- Infection
- Numbness and pain
- Oil cyst
- Possibility of revisional surgery at a later date
- Stretch marks
- Swelling
Post surgery Brazilian butt lift care
It generally takes 5 to 7 days to recover from the injections of your fat into the butt. After your Brazilian butt lift surgery, you may be surprised how swollen and big your butt is. Because not all of the fat will ‘take’, your Cosmetic Surgeon will inject slightly more fat than required.
Recovery from Brazilian butt lift surgery will vary from patient to patient. It is important that you don’t sit directly on your butt for at least 2 weeks. To avoid placing pressure on your butt, you will be told what type of pillow to use. To decrease bruising and swelling, you will need to wear a compression garment for at least 6 weeks. This also helps your loose butt skin retract.
While most patients can return to week after 2 weeks, it can take 6 to 8 weeks for the swelling to improve. It can take several months for the liposuction inflammation to improve.
It is recommended that you avoid rigorous exercise for at least 4 weeks after your Brazilian butt lift surgery. To promote circulation, gentle movement including walking is usually encouraged.
Some Cosmetic Surgeon’s recommend that you have regular post-operative massages, daily for the first week.
To find out if Brazilian butt lift surgery is appropriate for you consult a Cosmetic Surgeon
Brazilian butt lift surgery is a major cosmetic procedure. It is important to consult with several Cosmetic Surgeons. Having realistic expectations about Brazilian butt lift surgery is vital. While Brazilian butt lift surgery is usually effective and safe, there are risks and complications associated with it. You can find the best Australian Butt Lift Surgeons here.
Important to know
So you can make an informed decision, your elected surgeon will discuss the possible risks associated with butt lifts. Due to the complicated nature of these surgeries, it's important to understand how problems can be managed in the event that they occur.
