A Brazilian Butt Lift, or BBL, is an operation in which fat is removed from areas of the body that you don’t watch it, and placed in areas that you do want it. Most commonly, fat is removed from the abdomen, sides, and back.
The excess fat, is then injected into the buttocks to give more projection, and into the hips to get more curves. According to the American Society of Plastic Surgery (ASPS), the BBL surgery is the fastest growing procedure in the world.
The demand for a Brazilian butt lift is partially fueled by social media and prominence of celebrities like Kim Kardashian, Cardi B, and Nicki Minaj. Despite its popularity, there are still many myths associated with the BBL procedure. Let’s take a look at the top myths of a BBL.
Avoid sitting after BBL- Not a myth
Sitting too soon after a BBL recovery has the potential to harm the transplanted fat cells. When you sit after BBL on your buttocks putting pressure, it can adversely affect blood circulation, which is crucial for the survival of the newly transferred fat cells.
Prolonged sitting shortly after the surgery can diminish circulation, potentially leading to the destruction of the fat cells. So sitting after bbl myth is true and you should avoid sitting.
A BBL always looks fake – MYTH
Many people think that a full BBL surgery will give a fake looking result. It is true that some BBL results look around and fake, it doesn’t mean that it has to. There are many techniques that can be used in order to provide a natural looking result. If a natural result is what you desire, then you can seek out a plastic surgeon who specializes in BBL with natural looking results. Fear of looking fake should not be the reason to avoid this procedure. If that is your concern, then you need to really do your research and pick the plastic surgeon that can provide the results that you desire.
You Need to Feed the Fat After BBL- MYTH
This procedure involves transferring your own fat cells from one location to another. This means that you are getting many hundreds of thousands of small transplants. It is true that not all the fat cells will survive. However, when done properly and with good modern techniques, the fat craft survival rate should be about 70%.
That means 30% of the cells will not survive, but 70% will. The cells that survive will survive forever. So, it is untrue that you need to feed the fat after bbl or it won’t survive.
You need to repeat this procedure every few years – MYTH
Again, this is simply not true. As described above, 70% of the cells should survive and they should survive forever. This means that you do not routinely have to do this procedure again for maintenance. If in the future you desire to be larger, then a second BBL is certainly an option for you. This is not a procedure that is intended to be repeated every few years. Once the fat is newly transferred cells and survives, it will be a part of you forever.
This is the most-deadly plastic surgery procedure – MYTH
This is probably the most widely held misconception about the BBL procedure. In the past, too much pressure has been written about the risk associated with BBL. Specifically, the risk of potentially fatal fat embolism. A fat embolism is when a chunk of fat is in advertently injected into a blood vessel and it travels to your heart lungs brain and other organs. This is a serious but luckily rare risk of the Brazilian butt lift procedure.
In fact, recent data shows that when an experienced plastic surgeon utilizes modern fat grafting techniques, the risk of serious complications during a BBL procedure are actually lower than the risk of serious complications from a tummy tuck. This doesn’t mean that you should not be concerned when undergoing a Brazilian butt lift surgery. In fact, it’s just the opposite.
You need to make sure that you select a board-certified plastic surgeon experienced with Brazilian butt lift technique in order to minimize your risk of complications. However, you should not be scared by untrue statements that are intended to over inflate the risks associated with this procedure in order to gain clicks or viewers.
After your procedure you need to “feed the fat after BBL” – MYTH
Many people think that after they have this procedure done, they need to “feed the fat after bbl”. This means that they increase their calorie intake with high fat foods in order to make the fat grow. This is just simply unnecessary and can be potentially dangerous to your results. If you gain weight the fat that was transferred to your butt and hips will grow.
However, you cannot direct where you gain weight. This means that even if your butt grows, other areas of your body may grow as well ,such as your stomach or your arms or your legs or your flanks.
This will potentially harm the results that you obtained from your surgery. The best thing to do after your Brazilian butt lift surgery is to maintain a healthy lifestyle. This means eating healthy and exercising. You will not lose your butt unless you lose a significant amount of weight.
Feed the Fat After BBL Youtube Video
This was a common belief when Brazilian butt lift procedures were first started. Many surgeons felt that the fat survival rate was higher when the fat was injected into the muscle, or gluteus maximus muscle. Because of this, the fat injections were performed within the muscle. The problem with doing fat grafts this technique is that it can cause more pain and also will increase your risk of a potentially deadly fat embolism.
We have since learned that when the fat is placed between the skin and the muscle, the survival rate of the fat is comparable. Also, the risk of inadvertently injecting the fat into a blood vessel is almost zero. Therefore, the current recommendation is to inject the fat into the subcutaneous layer, which is the space between the skin and the muscle.
This gives comparable, or even better, cosmetic results, while also minimizing the risk of potentially fatal complications.
Any plastic surgeon who is performing Brazilian butt lift procedures today should only be injecting fat above the muscle. When selecting a surgeon for your BBL procedure, this is a question that you should specifically ask.
I should gain weight before the procedure in order to get a better result – MYTH
Because a Brazilian butt lift procedure requires “donor” fat, it is possible that you are just not a candidate for the procedure. People who are thin and do not have any extra fat, will not be able to undergo this procedure. Thin people think that they just have to gain weight and “fatten up” first few weeks before the operation. This they think this will give more fat to work with and a better result.
The problem with this approach is weight gain from BBL for the six weeks after the operation, and then that fat is placed in your butt in your hips, you will lose that fat when your weight goes back to normal. In order to maintain your results, you will have to keep your weight at the new elevated level, which is usually hard for most people. Sometimes you are just not a candidate for an operation.
Only women get Brazilian butt lift – MYTH
Like most plastic surgery procedures, it is true that the majority of patients are women. However, there are still mad that undergo all cosmetic procedures. The Brazilian butt lift is no exception. There are men who want to have a rounder and more athletic butt, and therefore request a BBL. There are also some people who desire a more feminine shape and want fat placed in their butt and hips. This is also a common procedure for trans women.
Contact us Today
If you were interested in a Brazilian Butt Lift and want to see if it is the right procedure for you, contact Dr. Matthew Schulman. He is a board-certified plastic surgeon in New York City who has extensive procedures experience with the BBL procedure and BBL recovery, having performed over 5000 BBLs. Request BBL before and after photos!
