Brazilian Butt Lift: Understanding the Procedure
A Brazilian butt lift (BBL), technically known as gluteoplasty, is a procedure used to transfer fat from one body area with extra fat to the buttocks to enhance their shape and size. It uses a combination of liposuction of the lower back, abdomen, thighs, or flanks with fat transfer to the buttocks.
According to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, about 20,500 buttock augmentation procedures were done in 2017. Over the last four years, this number has more than doubled.
A BBL helps give you a more natural-looking backside without the additional infection risks linked to implants.
A combination of lifestyle and genetics largely determines your body shape. Human bodies store fat differently, and your skeletal structure plays a crucial part in your overall silhouette. Changes such as weight lifting or pregnancy can alter your natural shape. For individuals who eat well and work out but are still unhappy with their body shape, a BBL can give them a look that is impossible to gain through lifestyle changes alone.
BBL efficiently works to defeat genetics’s effects by rejuvenating and reshaping the buttocks and the surrounding areas.
Ideal Candidates for Gluteoplasty
Here are the characteristics that make you an excellent candidate for BBL.
- You would like to augment your buttocks region without using implants.
- You have fat deposits in the applicable areas that can be harvested and injected into the buttocks.
- Your buttocks and hips have a good skin tone.
- You’re ready to avoid sitting on your buttocks for a few weeks as you recover.
Gluteoplasty Anesthesia Options
The choice of anesthesia in BBL has become a debatable topic. Most surgeons have been performing the BBL procedure under general anesthesia. However, more recently, buttocks fat transfer has been done using local anesthesia. Many doctors report using local anesthesia for performing liposuction for their patients with no complications. Although local anesthesia is sufficient for small volume liposuction procedures, it can be very uncomfortable for patients in large volume BBL procedures.
The determinant factor can be the complexity of the procedure and the size of the patient. That is the depth of the tissues the doctor needs to intervene and the number of fats that need extraction. To access the deep levels of tissues and fat and to get the maximum results, your surgeon will choose to use general anesthesia during BBL.
Cases of small volume liposuction can be done under local anesthesia and may or may not include mild sedation. The surgeon and the anesthesiologist will determine on the type of anesthesia to use since the primary goal should be the patient’s safety.
Gluteoplasty Procedure
Experts understand that to get a higher amount of viable fat cells, the liposuction method needs to be minimally traumatic. So, not all liposuction methods are adequate for fat transfers.
Some liposuction methods (laser liposuction such as Ultrasound-Assisted Liposuction and SmartLipo) target fat cells and simplify their extraction by interfering with their structure. Although these techniques are quite popular for slimming contours, they are not suitable for transferring fat. Thus, tumescent traditional liposuction is the choice technique for BBL because this method does not heat and melt fat cells. Thus their retention is much better.
Before liposuction, the surgeon injects a special numbing solution into the treatment areas. This numbing solution is composed of saline mixed with small concentrations of epinephrine and lidocaine. It does not have a standard formula. However, the epinephrine and lidocaine concentrations depend on the clinical situation and the treatment areas. The epinephrine induces vasoconstriction, enabling the liposuction to be done with no blood loss.
Your surgeon injects the solution targeting the subcutaneous fat, causing it to be tumescent, that is, firm and swollen, simplifying its removal by suction through the cannulas. They administer it warm, and after half an hour, the injected area is ready for liposuction.
The surgeon uses liposuction to remove fat from areas such as the thighs, hips, and stomach. Liposuction involves making cuts in the skin, then removing fat from the body using a tube.
The fat deposits that have been removed from the body are subjected to purification, then prepared for injection into your buttocks.
Your doctor injects the processed fats into particular areas of the buttocks to produce a more rounded and full look. They make up to five cuts around the buttocks to transfer the fats.
All the fat transfer and liposuction incisions are then closed up using sutures. Your doctor then places a compression garment against your skin’s treated areas to diminish the risk of bleeding.
Recovery After Gluteoplasty
All surgical procedures come with some recovery, and BBL is no exception. Although it is highly unlikely to experience a lot of pain, the greatest challenge in recovery is usually the fact that you cannot sit or lie directly on your buttocks for at least two weeks. This will mean sleeping on your stomach or your side and either laying or standing during your activities. After a while, your surgeon will instruct you to change this position by placing a doughnut seat or a pillow under your thighs, thus reducing pressure from your buttocks area.
Usually, your doctor will allow you to sit after about eight weeks after surgery. You can resume light activity a week after surgery, and you can return to your normal schedule two weeks after surgery.
Benefits of BBL
A few elements of this cosmetic procedure give it an advantage over other methods of buttock surgery. BBL gives you more natural-looking results and roundness. It also addresses particular age-related problems such as sagging and shapelessness. The technique is also suitable for correcting buttocks imbalances from one side of the body to the other. It also has fewer risks of infection compared to implants.
BBL is a remarkably safe way to augment your buttocks, giving them a fuller, more rounded look without the risks associated with implants. If you are considering this procedure, seek guidance from a qualified, board-certified plastic surgeon near you.
