How Long After Surgical Weight Loss Procedures Can a Patient Have A Brazilian Buttlift (BBL)?

Your weight should be stable for at least 6 months following a surgical weight loss procedure. Patients should try to achieve a BMI of 30 or so (at least less than 35). At this BMI (body mass index), the patient would achieve better results from liposuction of the abdomen, sides, flanks, and lower back (also referred to as liposuction 360 or lipo 360) and Brazilian buttlift (BBL). In addition, the lower BMI will decrease the risks of complications during and after surgery.  Dr. Kenneth Benjamin Hughes has performed thousands of liposuction procedures and Brazilian buttlifts (BBLs) in Los Angeles and Beverly Hills for patients from around the world. This vast experience of Dr. Hughes will help generate a better result for all patients, no matter the individual anatomic differences that may exist or the goals that a patient may have.

Having more subcutaneous fat and a higher BMI will predispose patients to a greater risk of complications such as blood clots, which can travel to the lungs and cause respiratory compromise and, in the worst case scenario, death. It is critical that these risks are minimized to the extent possible and that all patients are optimized to the extent possible.

Patients should also realize that only 5 liters of lipoaspirate can be removed at one time in an outpatient surgery center setting. Therefore, the amount of subcutaneous fat to be removed is limited as well. Thus, if patients have substantially more fat in these areas that are to be liposuctioned, then the relative percent improvement in those areas is less if you are fatter.

Patients should also understand that only a certain amount of fat can be transferred at one time as the skin overlying the buttocks and hips can only expand so much before the intrinsic properties of the skin prohibit further injection. Injecting more fat will only lead to greater fat resorption, greater risk for fat necrosis, and greater risk for infection. Therefore, though the plastic surgeon may be able to harvest 3000 cc to 4000 cc of fat during the liposuction procedure, most patients' skin envelope and tissues cannot expand enough to tolerate 1500 cc to 2000 cc of fat transferred to each side.

Dr. Kenneth Benjamin Hughes, Los Angeles Plastic Surgeon