Brazilian Butt Lift
Enhance your curves
BBL Surgery
The shape of your buttocks is mostly determined by genetics, but time also causes changes in this area of the body. Age, weight loss, and childbirth can all contribute to flat or drooping buttocks. Unfortunately, this area cannot be significantly altered by exercise. If you’ve worked hard to try to tone and shape your butt, you’re most likely feeling disappointed. A Brazilian Butt Lift is a minimally-invasive, butt enlargement procedure that can give you the results you want.
What Is a Brazilian Butt Lift (BBL)?
A Brazilian Butt Lift is a procedure done to enhance the projection of the buttocks and hips for a firm, high, rounded look by injecting fat taken from other areas of the body. This process is known as fat transfer or fat grafting. Your fat is a safe filler that will integrate into your buttocks and hips to enhance them with a natural look and feel. The body can also be contoured in the abdomen, flanks, and back, where the fat is harvested to help improve the patient’s overall figure.
Why is a Brazilian Butt Lift Done?
Rounded, full buttocks are a defining feature of femininity. The shape of your lower body is determined mostly by your genetics, and aside from increasing or decreasing overall body weight, it cannot be easily altered with diet and exercise. Men accumulate fat in the flanks, “love handles,” and abdominal area, with buttocks that are much flatter and more “indented” than those of women. Women typically have slimmer waists and accumulate fat in the buttocks, thighs, hips, and lower abdomen, with some women storing a disproportionate amount in one or more areas.
Cis Females
Some women may feel that their buttocks are flat or shapeless. They may have stubborn fat pockets on their hips, abdomen, or thighs that affect the shape of their overall buttock region and prevent them from obtaining the figure they want. These women might seek a Brazilian Butt Lift to enhance the curves of their lower body, help clothing fit better, and achieve a better balance between their upper and lower body. They may also want to correct certain issues that occur with age, such as sagging or loss of definition.
MTF Butt Augmentation
For MTF transgender patients, a Brazilian Butt Lift can help them reach a body with fat deposits closer to those of genetic females. It can help them achieve a smaller waist and rounder, more projected buttocks and fuller hips. This lowers the waist-to-hip ratio for an hourglass figure and a contoured silhouette.
What is Fat Grafting (Fat Transfer)?
Fat grafting, or fat transfer, is the key component to the Brazilian Butt Lift. In this technique, fat is harvested from another part of the body using traditional liposuction. The fat is then spun in a centrifuge to separate the bioactive fat from the oils. Once the fat has been purified to obtain only whole, undamaged fat cells, it is injected into strategic areas in the buttocks. Because the fat is yours and because it’s a natural, bioactive material, it will incorporate seamlessly to become a living part of the new site.
Butt Implants vs. BBL
Just like in breast augmentation, the buttocks can be augmented with implants. This involves making an incision, creating a pocket to hold the implant, and placing a silicone implant in the buttock.
Brazilian Butt Lift (BBL)
- Consists of transferring fat to the buttocks from other areas of the body.
- Allows the surgeon to contour other areas of the body.
- Minimally invasive.
- Low risk.
- Looks and feels natural.
- Cannot be done if patient does not have adequate fat stores.
Butt Implants*
- Consists of inserting silicone implants into the buttocks.
- Focuses only on the buttocks.
- Invasive surgery involving multiple incisions.
- Higher risk – infection, poor position, or change in position of the implant.
- Does not feel natural – firmer than your real tissue.
- Can be an option for people who do not have enough excess fat for a BBL
*Butt implant surgery is an invasive procedure with many potential complications. Because of this, Dr. Zukowski does not perform butt augmentation with implants. In most cases, he can achieve a much better result with a Brazilian Butt Lift.
What Happens During Brazilian Butt Lift Surgery?
During the surgery, Dr. Zukowski will strategically remove fat from other areas of your body using a combination of liposuction techniques. He will use traditional liposuction to harvest fat for use in your buttocks, then use ultrasonic liposuction to melt away any remaining extra fat in those areas. This allows him to sculpt your body into more of an hourglass figure by removing fat around your waist, abdomen, flanks, or back and adding it to your buttocks. The fat he takes for your buttocks will be purified and injected in a technique that enhances the overall buttock and hip region.
Benefits of a Brazilian Butt Lift
A Brazilian Butt Lift is a great option to contour your lower body shape and help you achieve full, rounded buttocks and an hourglass figure. It’s minimally invasive and low risk, requiring only a few small incisions. It also allows the surgeon to remove fat from other areas of the body and contour them for an optimal shape. The end result is sensuously rounded, full buttocks and hips that look and feel natural!
Disadvantages of a Brazilian Butt Lift
As safe as it is, a Brazilian Butt Lift is still a surgical procedure that carries some inherent risks, such as fat embolism and bleeding. You may also find it uncomfortable to sit on your buttocks or and need to modify how you sit for a time after the procedure. Additionally, with any fat transfer procedure, some of the injected fat (about 35%) will be absorbed by your body and will not stay. Dr. Zukowski does his best to account for this, but the amount of fat lost will vary by patient.
Ideal BBL Candidates
You may be a good candidate for a Brazilian Butt Lift if you:
- Have no significant health conditions.
- Cannot lose weight and have fat deposits in the abdomen, flanks, and back
- Do not smoke, or are willing to quit smoking.
- Are unhappy with the shape of your buttocks and lower body.
- Are MTF transgender and wish to obtain more feminine body proportions.
- Want a butt augmentation without implants.
- Have adequate fat stores in other areas of your body.
- Have good skin elasticity and tone on your hips and buttocks.
Important Considerations for a Brazilian Butt Lift
Body type is a large factor in determining who is a good candidate for a Brazilian Butt Lift. Some patients may not have adequate fat stores in order to perform the procedure. You also need to be willing and able to avoid putting undue pressure on your buttocks for a period of time after the surgery. It’s best not to gain or lose significant amounts of weight after the procedure, so it’s important to consider your current weight and any changes you foresee with it. Dr. Zukowski will evaluate you and ask about your goals and lifestyle to determine if this procedure is for you.
How Long Does a Brazilian Butt Lift Last?
A Brazilian Butt Lift will last for many years. The fat ”has memory,” and fat that is from the abdomen and back love handles is often the most difficult to shrink with weight loss. So even if you lose some weight after your procedure, this is the last fat to go. However, large fluctuations in weight can affect your results. Your body and its fat will also change naturally with age and time, whether or not you gain or lose substantial amounts of weight.
Dr. Zukowski is a board-certified plastic surgeon at the leading edge of his field. He will apply his skill and artistry to your body for a transformation that will leave you feeling youthful and feminine.
If you have any concerns or questions about a Brazilian Butt Lift, please don’t hesitate to contact our office in Chicago to learn more.
Visit the patient gallery to see before and after transformations.