Butt augmentation surgery (gluteal augmentation) enhances the shape, size, and projection of your buttocks via various tools and techniques. Itâs often combined with hip augmentation and liposuction, to create an hourglass shape.
The most popular butt enhancement procedure is fat grafting (aka fat transfer), commonly called a Brazilian butt lift (BBL), but it can also be achieved with silicone implants or, more rarely, injectable dermal fillers.Â
âThe BBL has become one of the most commonly performed procedures in the world as it shapes the abdomen, waistline, buttock, and hips,â says Atlanta, Georgia, plastic surgeon Dr. Stanley Okoro. âBBL is not only about the butt.âÂ
A BBL procedure is performed in three steps:Â
1. Fat harvesting: A plastic surgeon uses liposuction to remove excess fat from another area of the body, like the abdomen, flanks, lower back, or thighs, which contours the waistline. This is one of the biggest benefits of a BBL. In fact, sometimes strategic lipo can make the butt and hips appear more shapely even without adding more volume.
2. Fat purification: The fat is washed and loaded into thin cannulas or syringes.
3. Fat transfer: The surgeon injects the purified fat to the butt and hips, adding volume and projection to create a more of an hourglass figure (or the patientâs desired shape and size).Â
A Brazilian butt lift is usually performed as a stand-alone surgery, but itâs also being added to a lot of other procedures, says Austin, Texas, plastic surgeon Dr. Johnny Franco.Â
âIt used to be that people thought butt augmentation was only for 20-year-olds or people who wanted to do something moreâlike a Kim K. butt,â he says. âNow I combine it with almost every mommy makeover transformation, because it provides the 3D body contouring people want.âÂ
With a full mommy makeover, patients can get gluteal augmentation, breast augmentation, liposuction, and a tummy tuck.
Gluteal implants are usually requested by people who:
- donât have enough excess fat to harvest
- want more projection than fat alone can provide
- have concerns about the safety risks of a BBLÂ
These semisolid silicone prosthesesâsimilar to breast implants but firmer, with less chance of ruptures or leaksâare inserted through an incision between the butt cheeks and placed below the fascia that covers the gluteus muscle or, more preferably, within the gluteus muscle itself, before being secured with sutures.Â
Buttock implants, when placed properly, are lifetime devices, which do not need to be replaced, says Dr. Okoro.
Composite butt augmentation
Sometimes these two buttock augmentation procedures are combined into whatâs known as a composite butt augmentation.Â
In one of the earliest papers describing the technique, the authors (two leading BBL specialists) say that this method can give patients âthe best of both worlds: the reliable core projection of an implant combined with the natural appearance and feel of fat.â
âButt implants with fat transfer is very common in my practice,â adds Dr. Franco, who notes a third advantage of the hybrid: the torso shaping provided by liposuction.
