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Brazilian Butt Lift is Fat Transfer to the Buttock

If a patient has enough fat around the thighs, flanks and back that needs to be liposuctioned, a Brazilian fat transfer may be a better option than buttock implants.In Brazilian fat transfer, 350cc-500 cc of fat is transferred to each buttock (700cc-1,000 cc total). This means that this fat needs to be liposuctioned from the flanks.thighs, abdomen or back. Once 1,000 cc is harvested, transfer to the buttock can start.Patients who want liposuction beyond 1,000 cc will be charged extra.

The body absolutely needs some fat stores to be healthy. In fact, people who have a
very low body mass index (low fat stores) have reduced survival. The reason forthis is that during times of sickness, the body relies on fat reserves for fuel. If there are no fat reserves, physiologic stress occurs. Also some fat is needed for daily maintenance of body functions. The best place to store essential fat is in the buttock area.

Case 1:Brazilian Fat Transfer. In this case,fat is liposuctioned from the lower back,waist line and bras line. It is transferred tothe buttock.

Where fat is located makes a big physiologic difference to the body. The best place tostore fat is in the buttock area. The worse place is in the abdomen, then trunk, thenextremities.

Fat around the abdomen compresses theinternal organs and increases work load of the heart. Abdominal fat increases hypertension, hypercholesterolemia and contributesto diabetes heart disease and lower survival. Fat around the buttock does not do compress internal organs, and for this reason,does not increase work load of the heart and does not increase vascular resistance. Fat around the thighs and arms do not compress internal organs either, but reduce mobility and activity.

Therefore, the best candidate for a Brazilian fat transfer is a person who is not underweight or overweight, but hasfat distributed in sub-optimal locations.

Case 2:The patient seen here is not overweight. Her body mass index (BMI) is 20. However, she has fat around the waist which contributes to her hypertension and back problems. In thiscase, a Brazilian Butt transfer not only looks better, but is healthier.

The containers shown on the table containabout 2 liters of fat (4.5 lbs) of fat taken fromher trunk, love handles and abdomen

Liposuction of the waist with fat transfer tothe buttock achieves several goals:

  • Fat taken away from the abdomen reduces the work load of the heart. Four pounds of weight around the abdomen compresses the abdominal organs and increases vascular resistance. This means that the heart has to work harder. Increasing the work loadof the heart, reduces survival.

  • This four pounds of fat from the trunk reduces the load on the spine, which improves posture and fitness. See the tummy tucksection on how fat reduction improves spinal posture.

  • However, the body absolutely needs some physiologic reserves of fat. If we had removed her fat without transferring it back to thebuttock, her BMI would have been too low, which would have reduced her survival.

  • No amount of dieting and exercise can re-distribute fat in this way.

  • We also use the fat to fill-in the “cellulite dimples” of the buttock.

  • Butt implants do not remove fat from undesirable areas and do not fill-in “cellulite dimples”.

Case 3:Brazilian butt lift. Here we performed liposuction of the waist, back and thighs.The patient’s own fat from these areas is used to re-sculpt the buttock.

After liposuction, harvested fat is in a liquid form-not a solid mold. As a result, fattransfer to the buttock will not create as big of a buttock mound as implants. On theother hand, fat can be injected in cellulite areas and soft areas of the butt that animplant cannot go.

Implants create more projection than fat transfer-but do not remove fat from other areas. In the case shown here, liposuction of the thighs creates a thinner look.

Case 4:Hispanic lady shown here had liposuction of the upper and lower back with fat transfer to the buttock.

This is a classic example of “form follows function”. In other words, removal of trunkalfat is better for the body. Fat in the gluteal area does not contribute to back strain(the way fat around the trunk does). Also we need some fat.The best place to storefat is in the buttock, because it is not