The buttock augmentation trend is still growing with two treatments available : buttock implants and fat transfer, also known as Brazilian Butt Lift ‘BBL’. The fat grafting augmentation technique is the same for breast and buttock augmentations : fat is harvested from areas where it is not wanted (stomach, thighs, love handles, etc.) and injected in the buttocks. The goals of the BBL is to improve the projection of the buttocks, make them rounder and lift them up.
What happens during fat transfer buttock augmentation
What happens during surgery
During the first stage of the procedure, liposuction is performed to harvest fat from chosen areas. Liposuction cannulas used for fat grafting procedures are specifically designed to avoid damaging fat cells. This type of liposuction is minimally invasive which limits bruising following surgery.
One of the key elements to a successful BBL, says Dr Balti, is performing liposuction in the lower back, which hollows out the area, accentuates the arch of the back and marks the transition with the upper part of the buttocks.
Harvested fat is collected and prepared for centrifugation in order to only retrieve living cells from it. During the procedure, the patient is lying on the abdomen and multiple fat injections are made at different depths in the buttocks to improve shape, volume and projection.
What can be done
Unlike fat grafting breast augmentation, buttock augmentation can transfer a significant amount of fat. There is always a limit to what tissues and skin can house, but it is far greater than with the breasts.
Patients requests are not always the same. Some only want a small augmentation in the upper part of the buttocks for improved contours whereas others ask for a significant change in shape and volume.
Patients have to avoid lying on their back during 15 days and wear a compressive garment during 1 to 2 months. Like any liposuction procedure, definitive results can only be seen after a couple of months.
