Brazilian butt lift (BBL) in Medellín

Gluteal fat transfer (lipotransferencia glútea in Spanish), fat transfer to the buttocks, gluteal fat injection and BBL (short for Brazilian butt lift) are all names for the same surgery. Fat is removed with liposuction from areas like the abdomen or back, purified and moved to the buttocks to add volume and shape. Despite the word “lift” in the name, nothing is lifted: as the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) explains, it's a buttock augmentation with your own fat, without implants.

This is the name for a single surgery that combines a tummy tuck (removing extra skin and fat from the abdomen and, if needed, repairing diastasis recti), liposuction to define the waist and transfer of that fat to the buttocks. It's a bigger surgery than any of the three on its own. Your surgeon decides at your in-person consultation whether to combine them and in how many stages, and your test results confirm it. If doing it all at once isn't a good idea for you, we'll tell you.

Not all of the transferred fat stays. Part of it is reabsorbed in the first few months, and what integrates during those months is permanent. That's why the volume you see in the first days isn't the final result: by around month 6, the volume is stable. How much is reabsorbed varies from person to person, and no one can promise you an exact size. At your consultation, your surgeon explains what volume is realistic with the fat you have.

According to the ASPS, the risk of this surgery depends on where the fat is placed. The buttocks have many blood vessels, and if fat is accidentally injected into the muscle, it can cause a fat embolism, the most serious complication. That's why the fat is placed above the gluteal muscle, never inside it. The CDC reviewed deaths of US citizens after cosmetic surgery abroad: nearly all of the people whose weight was on record were overweight or had obesity, and all of them had two or more procedures in the same surgery. Here, we don't operate until your pre-op tests are in order, and your surgeon decides what can be combined in one surgery.

This surgery depends on your own fat and your health, so it isn't for everyone:

• Little fat in other areas: there may not be enough to transfer. At your consultation, we look at which option makes sense for you.
• Unstable weight, or far from a healthy weight for you: the ASPS describes the ideal patient as someone with realistic expectations who is close to their ideal weight, in good health and doesn't smoke.
• If you smoke, you'll need to quit before surgery.
• If your goal is to get rid of cellulite, transferred fat alone won't correct it.

During weeks 1 to 3, you avoid direct pressure on your buttocks, as your surgeon directs. The ASPS explains why: sitting for long periods damages the newly transferred fat. It also recommends sleeping on your stomach or side and, when you do need to sit, placing a cushion under the back of your thighs so your buttocks don't carry your weight. You wear your compression garment and have massages or lymphatic drainage as instructed. If you have shortness of breath, chest pain or an irregular heartbeat, get medical care right away.