Whether it’s due to the natural effects of aging, significant weight gain or loss, or simply genetics, our bodies change shape all the time. If you’re dissatisfied with the look of your butt for any of these reasons, you can enhance your body and feel better than ever with a Brazilian butt lift. Buttock augmentation allows a surgeon to reshape and enhance your gluteal area, providing you with a much shapelier buttock profile. Call Burt & Will Plastic Surgery and Dermatology in Burr Ridge, IL today and speak with one of our aesthetic surgery professionals.
When Should You Consider a Brazilian Butt Lift?
If you are someone whose buttocks are too small for your frame and you desire a more balanced look, augmentation is an option. Many people feel that their buttocks are too flat or too square and would like a more curvaceous appearance, so they opt for cosmetic surgery to reshape their gluteal region into a more aesthetically pleasing shape. Additionally, if weight loss or aging has left your buttocks loose, sagging, or flat, or if clothes and swimwear do not properly fit your physique, you should consider the procedure.
What Are Your Options?
The most popular method for buttock augmentation is the Brazilian butt lift surgery. It involves autologous fat transfer, using the patient’s own natural body fat, to shape and contour the buttocks. For those who wish for additional contouring, gluteal implant surgery with or without fat transfer can be an option.
Autologous Fat Transfer
Autologous fat transfer is known the world over as the Brazilian butt lift Chicago. It takes fat from one place in your body and uses it to reshape and enhance your buttocks. It involves liposuction with suction tubes, which is used to remove fatty tissue from the donor site. Donor sites are typically places that have excess fatty tissue, such as the belly, thighs, upper arms, and love handles.
After Removal
Once the fat has been removed from the donor site, it will be processed for fat transfer. Syringes will be filled with your body fat and then connected to the cannulas that will be used to inject it. Typically, three to five small incisions are created for injecting the fat, though they’re usually located in specific places that will be covered up with clothing. The fat is then grafted in layers at multiple levels, with the cannula moving back and forth to ensure a smooth, linear deposit of fatty tissue is left.
After surgery, the incisions will be closed with sutures, drainage tubes are inserted, and a compression garment will be fitted to be worn during recovery.
Long-Term
Not all of the fat that is transferred during the procedure is expected to survive in its new location. Sometimes, the final result ends up a little smaller than initially projected. This is normal, and repeat procedures may be advised to achieve the patient’s desired results.
While known as a “lift,” this procedure is focused primarily upon improving body contours, the waistline, reducing back rolls and providing for a more curvaceous figure. Typically, the skin is not removed during this procedure, and much of the “lift” is due to an increase in the projection of the buttocks.
Buttock Implants
The other popular procedure, buttock implants, are sometimes recommended to treat flat or poorly defined buttocks in patients who have limited fatty tissue. Implants are not as effective for treating sagging buttocks as autologous fat transfer is, particularly after significant weight loss.
In this procedure, a soft, shaped silicone implant is placed in the body through an incision inside the natural crease of the buttocks. Sometimes alternative incision site is used. Your plastic surgeon will discuss these options with you during your consultation.
Once the incision is made, the implant is positioned in a pocket below the large gluteal muscle and above the pelvic bone. The incisions are closed with sutures, drains will be inserted, and a compression garment to be worn post-surgery will be provided.
Deciding Among Options
There are two main procedures for augmenting your buttocks: Brazilian butt lift (autologous fat transfer) and buttock implants. Your surgeon will recommend how best to move forward based on your aesthetic goals and your current body shape. If you’re wanting a more rounded shape to your buttocks, butt implants may be chosen. Fat grafting, on the other hand, is fantastic for contouring and reshaping your buttocks.
If you are very thin and have little excess fat, implants may be the best option. If your aesthetic woes stem from sagging buttocks after significant weight loss, then fat grafting or a combination of both implants and fat grafting may be necessary to achieve the results you want.
Will Incisions Leave Scars?
Your incisions, and therefore your scars, will differ depending on the type of procedure you and your surgeon decide upon.
Liposuction Scars
With autologous fat transfer, the incisions used for liposuction are very small–they’re just large enough to allow the suction tube to go under the skin to do its work. The incisions used to inject the fat into the buttock region are also quite small.
Implant Scars
Most often, the incision made in implant surgery is located in the fold between the butt cheeks and is very difficult to see. Alternative locations include the outer corners of the upper buttock and the bottom of the gluteal crease.
Your Initial Consultation
You will discuss your cosmetic goals with your surgeon at your initial consultation. You’ll be evaluated as a candidate for surgery and your surgeon will make it clear what the procedure can and cannot do for you. As a better understanding of your goals and condition is obtained, your surgeon may suggest additional treatments to better achieve the results you’re looking for.
Your surgeon will examine your buttocks, taking note of their size and shape, the quality of your skin, what kind of augmentation may be appropriate according to your goals and body type, and if there are appropriate donor sites should you plan to proceed with a Brazilian butt lift.
Be ready to inform your surgeon about your complete medical history, including any information about previous surgeries (whether medical or cosmetic), especially tummy tuck or other abdominal surgeries. They will also need to be informed about any past or present medical conditions you have faced, allergies to any medications, and any prior history of injections to the buttocks.
It’s critical that you provide complete information regarding your medical history to your surgeon as well as any plans to lose a significant amount of weight in the future. If you plan to lose weight, your surgeon may recommend that you stabilize your body weight before undergoing surgery because dramatic weight loss can significantly affect your long-term results.
How to Prepare for Your Procedure
Before your procedure, your surgeon will provide you with detailed pre-operative instructions, answer any questions you may have, take a detailed medical history and perform a physical exam to ensure you’re fit to undergo the procedure.
You may need to make some lifestyle changes in order to minimize complications with your procedure. If you smoke, your surgeon will tell you to stop at least six weeks before undergoing surgery as it can impede healing. You will also likely be advised to stop taking any aspirin, anti-inflammatory drugs (such as Advil), or herbal or homeopathic supplements that can cause an increase in bleeding. You will also be advised to drink a lot of water and stay hydrated, as hydration is very important both before and after surgery.
The Day of the Procedure
Brazilian butt lifts typically take anywhere from two to three hours to complete, though they can sometimes take longer. Before the procedure begins, medications are often administered for your comfort during the procedure. Typically, general anesthesia is used during buttock augmentation procedures, but local anesthesia or intravenous sedation are often also viable options in some circumstances.
Various monitors will then be set up for your safety during surgery. They will be used to check your heart, blood pressure, pulse, and the amount of oxygen circulating in your blood. After everything has been set up, medications and anesthesia have been administered, your surgeon will follow the surgical plan you both discussed before your surgery.
Once the procedure is complete, you will be taken to a recovery area where you will be monitored while you rest. Drains will be in place already, and if you’d had a fat transfer, a compression garment will be placed over the liposuction sites as well as over your buttocks. Most patients are permitted to go home after a short observation period. It’s important that you make plans beforehand to have someone who will take you home and provide you with aftercare while you heal.
Aftercare and Recovery
You and your surgeon will discuss how long it will take before you can return to your normal job or level of daily activity. You and your caregiver will get detailed instructions on how to care for you post-surgery, which will include info about the drains and how to care for them as well as any normal symptoms of recovery you’ll experience.
Immediately After the Procedure
The incision sites where your surgeon inserted the cannula during liposuction and/or the implants may drain fluid for several days. Because of this, drainage tubes are often used to channel the fluid away from the wound.
You’ll need to continue wearing special compression garments to keep your buttocks compressed. How long you’ll need to wear them can vary, and your doctor will inform you of what type of garments you need to wear and how long you should wear them.
How Long Do the Results Last?
For the most part, the results of your Brazilian butt lift procedure will be long-lasting. Once a successful fat transfer buttock enhancement has been performed, the fat that remains there will stay for the rest of your life. The fat will grow and age with you just like the rest of the tissues in your body. If any implants have been placed, they will not need to be removed unless you choose to do so.
While the procedure is extremely effective at improving the shape and contour of your buttocks, it’s important to make the necessary lifestyle changes geared toward maintaining the appearance of your new shape. A healthy diet and consistent exercise regimen should be incorporated into your daily routine.
Get Started on Your New Physique
If you’re dissatisfied with your appearance due to aging, weight loss, or genetics, and you want fuller, more shapely buttocks, then a Brazilian butt lift may be the procedure for you. If you’d like to find out more about what butt augmentation surgery can do for your life and self-confidence, contact us at Burt & Will Plastic Surgery and Dermatology in Burr Ridge, IL today at 815-267-0231.