Is the Brazilian Butt Lift Safe?

April 12, 2019

The short answer is, yes, the Brazilian Butt Lift (BBL) is a very safe procedure.

Here’s the long answer:

Our very own Dr. Lista told us that when he started out as a plastic surgeon everyone wanted fat to be removed from their bodies, but the trend has changed in that many people want unwanted fat removed from certain areas of their bodies but then added to others creating that lovely hourglass shape Beyoncé is known for. Hence, the increase in the popularity of the Brazilian Butt Lift and the inquiries into its risks and benefits.

Before we get into the nitty gritty of how safe the Brazilian Butt Lift actually is, let’s tell you what it is.

The Brazilian Butt Lift is essentially a fat grafting procedure, which basically means that you take fat from areas of the body where you would like to have less or hardly any and inject it where you would like to have more, which is most often the buttocks. Liposuction is performed to remove unwanted fat from areas like the abdomen, lower back, sides and hips, and then this fat is purified and re-injected into specific areas of the buttocks, creating a beautiful contoured hourglass shape, accentuating the flatness of the abdomen and back, and emphasizing the shapeliness of the butt.

The great thing about the Brazilian Butt Lift is that not only does it create a very attractive shape but it also results in very little to no scarring as the incisions made for liposuction and injection of the fat are very small. Sounds pretty simple, right? Well it can be, if you have a plastic surgeon that knows exactly what they’re doing.

If you’ve been asking yourself whether the Brazilian Butt Lift is a safe procedure, you may have read some of the concerning statistics about how this aesthetic surgery in particular has caused particular post-op complications. This is only due to the fact that whoever performed the procedure in these unfortunate cases did not have the knowledge, experience, and technical expertise that is necessary to make this procedure safe and simple.

There are important things that your surgeon needs to consider and have prior expertise and knowledge of before the surgery is performed such as, how much fat can be safely removed, where the fat is injected, how deeply the fat is injected, and how much can be injected. Even though we all think that our butts are mostly made up of fat, the buttocks actually has a lot of muscle in it that if compromised can lead to unnecessary complications.

It’s really important that your surgeon only inject the fat at the subcutaneous level—in other words, just under the skin and no deeper than the existing layer of fat. And it’s also really important that he/she does not inject too much fat to create a more dramatic look, because this too can cause some serious problems.

So what’s the takeaway here? Yes, the Brazilian Butt Lift is safe when you have a board certified plastic surgeon that has expertise in this particular surgery and has successfully performed it every time. This means they have the experience and the technique, but are also in the know, are up on all the new research, and have offered you an in-depth personal consultation and assessment on whether this is a safe procedure for you, because every body is different.

At the Plastic Surgery Clinic our surgeons perform on average over 100 successful buttock augmentation procedures, including the Brazilian Butt Lift, per year. So if this is something you might be interested in, we invite you to book a complimentary consultation with one of our expert doctors. They will talk you through the procedure, lay out all the risks and benefits, listen to your concerns, consider your aesthetic goals, and will give you an honest answer as to whether this is a good treatment for you and for your body.