Brazilian Butt Lifts – Very Popular

Brazilian butt lifts are one of the most rapidly growing operations in plastic surgery. Over the last two or three years, our practice has seen a large increase in the interest in Brazilian butt lift. This is due largely to media attention of the procedure, and also pop culture interest in some celebrities with more exaggerated body contours.

The Brazilian butt lift is simply a procedure of adding volume to the buttocks. This is done by grafting fat from other areas of the body into the buttocks where the cells would live and contribute to the size and shape. In this procedure, fat is harvested from another area of the body, which is most commonly the waist including love handles and abdomen. If the love handles or back rolls or abdomen do not provide enough fat for the volume desired, we can also perform liposuction in other areas such as the inner thighs, which are also quite popular. Technically, the fat could be removed from anywhere where the patient desires to have volume reduction. Often times, the Brazilian butt lift is combined with the tummy tuck as well, to give the ultimate improvement in contour.

What is really desired by most patients is the smaller waist and a fuller higher more projected buttocks. In this way, patients can have a narrower waist and wider hips. Often times, patients do desire very exaggerated proportions, although this is often limited by the patient’s own skeletal structure, because the limiting bony foundations cannot be moved.

Brazilian butt lifts are done as an outpatient operation, and usually take only approximately 2.5 to 3 hours. The recoveries are quite straightforward, in that the patient should avoid lying or siting on the buttocks for approximately a month. This is achieved by sitting with pads under the thighs so the buttocks itself is not touching the chair.

The common range of fat grafting amounts are usually between about 500 mL to 600 mL per side up to about 1200 mL per side. Generally, any more than that put in one side of the buttock will not fit well, and therefore the fat will probably not survive the transfer, so it is not probably not beneficial to use anymore of fat than that at one time, and it probably does increase the rate of possible complications. Often times though, the amount of fat that is transferred is really limited by the amount of fat that the patient has in other areas available for transfer.

Overall, Brazilian butt lift patients are some of our happiest patients because the change in contour is so immediate and dramatic, and the patients usually have a good understanding of exactly what they are asking for and it is often easier to deliver the expected result with this operation than with other operations. Especially combined with the tummy tuck, a Brazilian butt lift can really be a home run and can be incredibly satisfying for the patient.