Brazilian butt lift before & after photos
90%
324 reviews
Worth It Rating Our index shows the percentage of community members saying this was "Worth it". See cosmetic treatment rankings
Brazilian Butt Lift Cost $7,500 average cost

Brazilian Butt Lift Through Smart Lipo?

Can Brazilian Butt Lift be done with fat obtained through Smart Lipo, or does the fat have to be harvested through traditional Liposuction?

Asked 38 months ago by ms76 in West Palm Beach, FL
Sort 33 expert answers by:
+1

Brazilian buttock augmentation requires traditional liposuction techniques

A Brazilian buttock augmentation involves removing fat from one or more areas through the use of traditional liposuction then transferring/injecting the fat into the desired area, the buttock.  Other liposuction techniques such as smartlipo, can destroy the fat, therefore rendering it useless for this procedure. Smartlipo is indicated for a very specific patient who has minimal fatty deposits with very good skin tone. Consult with a board cerrtified plastic surgeon who is... more
William Bruno, MD
Beverly Hills Plastic Surgeon
+3

Smart lipo Brazilian Butt Lift

Smart Lipo melts fat and shrinks the skin.  To get the best of both I harvest the fat with traditional tumescent liposuction.  I then use smart lipo after the fat has been harvested to get better skin shrikage from the harvested areas.  This way the fat is not melted and you gettting better skin shrikage.
Michael Constantin Gartner, DO
Paramus Plastic Surgeon
+3

Smart Lipo for Brazilian Butt Lift?

Definitely wouldn't recommend it! Smart Lipo uses a laser to break up and melt the fat cells, killing them. What you have to understand is that the Brazilian procedure doesn't just transfer fat. This procedure is really a way of transferring the cells that store the fat, Fat Cells. The goal is to transfer these cells in a way that they survive in their new location, the soft tissues of the buttocks. Therefore, laser liposuction, ultrasonic liposuction, and even power assisted liposuction are... more
Daniel P. Markmann, MD
Baltimore Plastic Surgeon
+2

Smart lipo destroys fat cells and therefore can not be used for harvesting fat fro buttock augmentation

Because laser liposuction or "smart liposuction" destroys fat cells, it can not be used to harvest fat cells for grafting into the buttocks. I guess "smart lipo" is not such a "smart idea".
S. Sean Younai, MD
Beverly Hills Plastic Surgeon
+2

You need fat that will survive.

With Brazillian butt lifts the goal is to transfer fat from unwanted areas and use it to enhance the profile of the buttocks. The fat that is transferred should be treated so that it will survive. Transferring fat that will die will lead to complications like infection and loss of contour improvement. Smart lipo, laser lipo, cool lipo, ultrasonic lipo - anything where there is increased fat cell destruction means the fat you transfer may not survive. Traditional liposuction should be used.... more
Steven H. Williams, MD
San Francisco Plastic Surgeon
+2

Fat transfer requires non-traumatized fat cells.

MS76, Fat transfer requires non-traumatized fat cells. Smart Lipo uses a laser to melt the fat. These fat cells would not be viable for transfer techniques. Depending on how much fat you need transfered, it would be possible to do traditional liposuction to get enough fat for transfer and then perform Smart Lipo everywhere else. I hope this is helpful. David Shafer, MD New York City
David Shafer, MD
New York Plastic Surgeon
+1

Brazilian butt lift with Smart lipo

A Brazilian butt lift cannot be done through smart lipo. The Smart lipo uses a laser-assisted technique to melt the fat. In essence, a Smart lipo kills all the fat through this process making the fat useless for fat transfer. To perform a fat transfer to the buttocks, the fat needs to be viable and the Smart lipo does not meet this requirement. There is a big difference in doing a liposuction procedure to improve the contour of the body and a liposuction to harvest the fat and at the... more
Wilberto Cortes, MD
Houston Plastic Surgeon
+1

Brazilian Butt Lift

Liposuction with added laser and/or heat energy to melt the fat actually harms and kills fat cells. That would render those fat cells completely useless, and not suitable for grafting elsewhere. Moreover, those fat cells, if implanted can lead to accumulation of calcium and hardening, so it might make the buttocks situation even worse.
Daniel Kaufman, MD
New York Plastic Surgeon
+1

Brazilian Butt Lift is buttock augmentation via fat grafting. This requires living fat cells; Smart Lipo kills fat cells.

Virtually every one of these replies notes that fat grafting requires living cells to enhance the buttocks; since Smart Lipo kills the fat cells by thermally destroying them via laser energy, this is not the way to go. Even "traditional" liposuction utilizes high negative pressures that can literally "boil" fat cells at room temperature (because of the very low pressures), destroying many of the potential living cells for grafting. When these modalities are used to... more
Richard H. Tholen, MD, FACS
Minneapolis Plastic Surgeon
+1

Smart Lipo and the Brazilian Butt Lift

The harvesting and transfer of fat necessary to augment your buttocks is very dependent upon the way the fat is taken from the donor site. The laser superheats the fat and essentially destroys the fat cells. When this 'fat' is then transferred it is guaranteed to disappear with time. Suctioning must be done with lower suction pressures and gentle handling of fat. Blasting the fat with a laser is a recipe for an expensive but disappointing result.
Jon F. Harrell, DO
Miami Plastic Surgeon
+1

BBL should be done with traditional liposuction techniques

The fat obtained for fat grafting during a Brazilian Butt Lift procedure is harvested using a low vacuum technique. Smart Lipo applies significant heat to tissues and then removes fat under high vacuum levels. Smart Lipo is not an ideal way to obtain fat for fat grafting.
Scott Sattler, MD
Bellevue Plastic Surgeon
+1

Brazilian Butt Lift requires fat grafting from viable source: Not smart to use Smart Lipo

Brazilian butt lift is fat injection to the buttocks with liposuction around the area to improve the contour and fullness in the area. In order for the procedure to work, you need adequate volumes of fat which are harvested carefully and then prepared so not to damage the fragile fat cells. Smart lipo is laser liposuction where laser energy is used to rupture fat cells and then the fat is removed with standard liposuction. I would argue as to the efficacy of smart lipo at all and feel... more
Andrew P. Trussler, MD
Dallas Plastic Surgeon
+1

Cannot use Smartlipo fat to do a brazilian butt lift

The fat cell is destroyed during Smartlipo and can't be used for grafting to another body area.  Traditional liposuction should be done instead. 
Carmen Kavali, MD
Atlanta Plastic Surgeon
+1

Improving results with Brazilian Buttock lift

To get the best result with Brazilian Butt Lift, you need the following; adequate Fat Excellent technique and extensive experience by your surgeon. The three processes of micro injecting the fat should be done meticulously and without trauma to the very fragile fat cells.  These include non-traumatic fat transfer techniques during 1. Harvesting 2. Processing and 3. micro injecting the fat cells. Make sure you discuss with your surgeon what he feels will... more
Ali Sajjadian, MD
Orange County Plastic Surgeon
+1

SmartLipo kills fat cells and is not good for fat grafting

SmartLipo kills fat cells.  It is not an option if you want fat grafting. SmartLipo uses a laser to break up fat cells so that the liposuction is mechanically easier to perform.  By doing so the cells are killed and cannot be used for fat grafting. There are other variations on regular liposuction, such as Ultrasound, Waterjet, and Power-assisted Liposuction.  These should be relatively safe.  In our practice, however, we only use regular or Power-assisted... more
Martin Jugenburg, MD
Toronto Plastic Surgeon
+1

Ideal technique for Brazilian butt lift

The success of Brazilian butt lift depends on a number of factor, the most important of which is the viability of fat that is grafted.  Smart lipo and many other modalities destroy the viable fat cells.  Even the so called "traditional" Liposuction has lower proportion of viable fat cells.  Ideally the surgeon performing structural fat grafting to buttocks (the so called Brazilian butt lift) needs to have impeccable technique.  This includes aspirating... more
Boris M. Ackerman, MD
Newport Beach Plastic Surgeon
+1

Brazilian Buttlift not viable through smartlipo

Performing the Brazilian Butt Lift is not viable utilizing smartlipo as smartlipo (like any other laser liposuction) burns the fat during its removal which does not allow it be reprocessed and injected into the buttocks.
Kris M. Reddy, MD
West Palm Beach Plastic Surgeon
+1

Smart Lipo can't be used for Brazilian Butt lift

Smart Lipo  is one of many brands of laser liposuction equiptment. These laser techinques, along with ultrasonic liposuction such as Vaser, destroy the fat cells before the fat is actually removed by the suction tube. Because the cells are no longer viable, the fat can not be used for fat injections such as in a Brazilian Butt Lift. 
Kevin F. Hagan, MD
Nashville Plastic Surgeon
+1

Smart lipo and Brazilian Butt Lift

Smartlipo, a kind of liposuction which utilizes a laser beam to break up fat cells prior to traditional liposuction, destroys the fat cells before they are removed from the body.  In order to successfully perform any kind of fat transfer, e.g. a Brazilian butt lift, a large number of the fat cells to be transferred must be healthy, alive, and processed appropriately prior to placement into the butt.  Smartlipo or any kind of laser liposuction should never be used when... more
Jaime Perez MD
Tampa Plastic Surgeon
+1

SmartLipo destroys fat- this cannot be used in a Brazilian Butt Lift

SmartLipo is a special type of liposuction that will destroy the fat as it is removed. If the fat is then destroyed it then cannot be used as material for fat grafting into the gluteal region. For a successful result in a Brazilian butt lifts, the fat must be cleaned and processed very gently. Only in this way will the fat survive once it is placed into the buttocks. If someone is offering this combination to you, be suspicious and please make sure that your surgeon actually has experience... more
B. Pat Pazmino, MD
Miami Plastic Surgeon
+1

Smart Lipo is a bad choice for Fat Transfer and Brazillian Butt Lift

Both the buttock itself AND the areas surrounding the buttock are key to the appearance of a sexy butt. This recognition lends itself to combining liposuction with fat transfer to optimize the buttock shape and is the technique used in a "Brazillian Butt Lift." Many techniques have been proposed for fat harvesting for transfer to other areas of the body, but Smart Lipo makes the least sense as it heats and destroys the fat cells. While techniques such Vaser liposuction using... more
Nick Slenkovich, MD
Denver Plastic Surgeon
+1

Cells need to be handled properly to survive

It is not ideal to use the laser energy in the process of harvesting. The cells need to be handled in a very gentle manner other wise there is a high chance of killing these cells. This could lead to less chance of take.
Hisham Seify, MD, PhD
Los Angeles Plastic Surgeon
+1

Vaser works better for Brazilian butt lift

I do both Smartlipo and Vaser liposuction in my San Jose office. Vaser is a better method to harvest fat for Brazilian Butt lift. Smatlipo can be used after the fat is harvested with the Vaser but you don't want to use Smartlipo first or it will injure the fat cells and the lift won't work as well.
Daryl K. Hoffman, MD
Los Gatos Plastic Surgeon
+1

Why Brazilian butt lift should not be done with smart lipo

Smart lipo literally boils the fat cells. These fat cells are not viable and will not be available for fat grafting. Fat grafting is a very specialized procedure that takes a lot of care. The video below explains what it takes to harvest a succesful fat graft, see also the linked blog post on subject. see video
Ricardo Rodriguez, MD
Baltimore Plastic Surgeon
+1

SmartLipo is a REAL Dumb Way to do a Brazilian Butt Lift

SmartLipo works by heating and destroying the fat and then removing it with vacuum suction. When we need fat to transfer elsewhere, we ideally need every fat cell to survive the removal from the donor area and the trip to the recipient area (in this case the buttocks) where it will take and grow. Cooking the fat cells and then transferring dead fat cells to another location, hoping they would grow is really NOT smart. Dr. P. Aldea
Peter A. Aldea, MD
Memphis Plastic Surgeon
Use of this website and the posting of any reviews or other content on this website constitutes acceptance of the RealSelf® Terms of Service. The material on this site is for informational purposes only, and is not a substitute for medical advice, diagnosis or treatment provided by a qualified health care provider. © 2011 RealSelf, Inc. All rights reserved.