Can Brazilian Butt Lift Be Combined with Tummy Tuck or Lipo?

Hi there-

Liposuction is, in fact, a critical component of the Brazilian Butt Lift technique, in which fat is removed from areas where it is not complementary to the patient's figure, and grafted into the buttock area for an improved shape.

I am of the opinion that combining a tummy tuck with this technique is not in your best interests (although it may be in the surgeon's) for the following reasons:

in order to get the very best outcome from Brazilian Butt Lift surgery, we need to harvest as much fat as possible through liposuction. Often, one of the best sources of fat is the abdomen. Unfortunately, liposuction of the abdomen at the time of a tummy tuck compromises the blood flow necessary to heal after the tummy tuck, and so doing a tummy tuck at the same time would significantly limit the amount of liposuction that could be done on the abdomen. Also, in order to graft fat back into your buttocks, we need to place you on your abdomen- NOT a position I would want any of my recent tummy tuck patients to get into. If we remove less tissue from your abdomen than we normally would in order to allow this positioning, then your abdomen won't look as good as it could have.

So you can understand that doing these procedures together (tummy tuck and brazilian) compromises the outcome of both- not a good idea. Better to get the best outcome from one, and then do the other.

Thanks for your question.

This is a very common question. A tummy tuck and a BBL can be done at the same time. Even though these two procedures can be done together, they are best done separately. This allows for more predictability of the result. Furthermore, the recovery is more difficult when procedures are combined. The patient can only sleep on her sides and this makes for a very uncomfortable recovery. In addition, the post-surgery pain is much greater. That said, doing the two procedures separately, it makes sense to do the tummy tuck first. Then 4-5 months later, a BBL can be performed. The reason being that if you have significant excess skin and you get liposuction in that area, the area will look wrinkled, scarred, and irregular. Also doing significant liposuction on the abdomen and then having a tummy tuck later can predispose you to wound healing complications after the tummy tuck.

Please always consult with a board certified plastic surgeon.

Take Care, Moises Salama MD, Board Certified Plastic Surgeon

Thank you for your question.Yes, it is possible to have those procedure at the same time. But first, for safety reasons, to be a good candidate for the procedures you want at the same time, your labs and  cardiovascular preoperative evaluation must be optimal.
Kind Regards,Dr. Emmanuel Mallol Cotes.-

Yes, these two procedures can be performed together provided the patient is in good overall health..

Thank you for your question. Yes, combining a Brazilian Butt Lift with a Tummy Tuck is very common. However, recovery will be more of a pain and sleeping will be a little more uncomfortable. Keep in mind that you will be very sore from the Tummy Tuck and Liposuction. Sleeping on your stomach the first week is not going to workout. Sleeping on your side would be the best option. If you sleep on your back you can suffocate the fat that was transferred to the buttocks. As long as you have help at home the first week of recovery, having both surgeries should work out. You do not want to be in this recovery alone with no help. Otherwise, knocking them out in one day is is an option. Best of luck!Dhaval M. Patel Double board certifiedPlastic surgeonHoffman Estates OakbrookChicago

In my practice it is most common for me to perform all of the procedures you mentioned at the same time. I use an assistant to save total operative time with the goal less than 6 hours of surgery (often far less than that) to minimize potential complications and for a speedier recovery. My patients following a TT with or without a BBL stay in a reclining chair the first week. The benefit is only one surgery, only one recovery (you heal from all procedures simultaneously) and that you can use the fat that would normally be discarded from the tummy tuck. Pros and cons of this decision should be part of your in depth consultation with your plastic surgeon. The most important decision is picking the best plastic surgeon experienced in this technique. #CombinationTTandBBL

Thank your for your question. A tummy tuck can address the skin and
muscle laxity of the abdominal region as well as reducing the excess
fatty tissue. A brazilian butt lift helps to shape the buttock by
borrowing fat from one part (or several) and transferring this fat to
another. They are both extremely rewarding procedures. The best
approach for a patient who wants to have both procedures is to stage
them and possibly start with the BBL. Here is why:1) A brazilian
butt lift is transferring fat from one area to the buttock. One common
donor area is the tummy. Once the fat is transferred, you need to keep
pressure off the buttock as this allows new blood supply to develop to
the newly grafted fat cells. Any stress such as pressure can reduce the
efficacy of this process and hence you may lose some fat. Hence, no
sitting or laying on your bottom for ~2 weeks.2) A tummy tuck is
removing excess skin and tightening the muscle as well as remove extra
fat. To make the skin removal efficient and protect the incision, you
surgeon will often remove skin while your hips are flexed. You will
need to maintain this position after surgery for about a week. This
will required you to sleep in a recliner position for a good week. In
addition, l often combine liposuction of the abdomen and flanks as part
of this procedure and once this fat is removed, it cannot be stored for
the brazilian buttock lift in the future.Since the recovery process
for these two popular procedures compete, I would recommend staging
them. If you are surgeon is needing as much donor areas to recruit as
much fat as possible, then I would start with the brazilian buttock lift
so you can use the abdominal and flank regions as donor areas. The BBL
may range around ~8-12 K depending on how many donor areas are required
to achieve your desired volume. The tummy tuck is ~8K.

I don't recommend doing a brazilian butt lift and a tummy tuck at the same time. The Brazilian butt lift should be done first and then after 6 months you can have the tummy tuck if necessary

In my practice, I perform butt reshaping very frequently. To answer your question in regard to having multiple procedures done at the same time, including a tummy tuck, you have to understand what involves the postoperative recovery of the fat transfer procedure to the buttock area and what the procedure is about. The fact is that as much fat as possible is needed to reshape the person’s butt and make it proportionate to the body frame. In other words, fat will be taken from the abdomen, flanks, back, and axilla among other areas. Now, after surgery, you can’t sit constantly on the buttock for approximately 10-14 days to make sure the fat is not damaged. If going to the bathroom, the person can just sit for 5 minutes. That’s it.

Now, let’s think about the tummy tuck. You will have an incision on your lower abdomen that will hurt so most likely you won’t be able to lie on your stomach for some days. Let’s say you have a tummy tuck and a Brazilian butt lift. You won’t be able to lie on your back due to the Brazilian butt augmentation nor on your chest because of the tummy tuck. In other words, your recovery will be unbearable.

This is not a matter of having multiple procedures done at the same time. In fact, multiple procedures at the same time like a tummy tuck and a breast surgery (Mommy makeover) could be done but not together with the Brazilian butt lift. In my practice, I perform the Brazilian butt lift first, harvest as much fat as possible, and then do a tummy tuck at least 6 months after the procedure, if the patient needs it. This will depend on how your skin will respond to liposuction.

In my practice, some of my patients have indicated me that certain surgeons recommend having multiple procedures done with the buttock augmentation.  On further questioning, they even recommend having a tummy tuck and also the butt augmentation while the patients are on their back on the surgical table. Injecting the butt with fat when the patients are lying on their back is a bad idea. You will need to be on your chest for the surgeon to visualize the areas of deficiency and inject the buttock properly. In addition, if you take into consideration the surgical implications of both procedures, you come to the conclusion that it is not possible. For example, when you close the incision for a tummy tuck, many times the patient’s belly needs to be bent forward to excise the excess abdominal skin. Consequently, this will prevent the patient from lying on the chest for the buttock procedure once the tummy tuck is done.

Understanding the postoperative recovery is as important as the surgery itself. In conclusion, I do not recommend having any procedure done in addition to the butt sculpting procedure since you will compromise your recovery and long-term results
 

It is sometimes a benefit to have a tummy tuck along with the brazilian butt lift. I these cases a lot more fat can be removed because the area where the tummy tuck is to be performed can be liposuctioned aggressively since the skin would be removed and there is no concern for skin dimpling.

So the procedure would go with liposuction of the abdomen and hips while on your back. You would be turned to do more sculpting and liposuction with the fat grafting to the gluteals. You would be finally turned supine again for the tummy tuck portion.

Good luck.

But I am in 100% agreement that laying on the new fat grafts (which you will need to do after tummy tuck) may cause some loss of volume or shape.
I have done a number of combined cases and suspect this may have been a problem a few times.