Why is BBL an Outpatient Procedure?

Thank you for your very good question. A BBL procedure is two procedures in one. The surgeon does liposuction of the body to collect fat and reshape the torso and then take this fat and transfer it to the buttocks for shaping and enhancement. The hospital will not add any extra layers of protection. Most feared risk factor is fat embolus into the large pelvic veins which travels to the heart and clogs the chambers or part of it is pumped into the lungs causing blockage of oxygen exchange. It is a fatal complication and it happens in surgery not later. This feared complication is purely the result of poor understanding of the gluteal and pelvic anatomy and it is a technical problem. That is why it is imperative or life saving to choose the right surgeon based on experience and not fall a victim of low balling prices.The death rate of 1:3000 that is often quoted is being disputed scientifically. The study was flawed, a lot of assumptions were made. The only true number was the number of death and not the total population who had this procedure done. Papers will be coming out refuting this finding. It seems the fat embolus/death rate is 1:13,000, less than in abdominoplasties. No one questions the death rate in abdominoplasties (1:10,000)!I do these procedures in my accredited office surgery suite under intravenous sedation only.See a board certified plastic surgeon experienced in advanced body sculpting techniques for an in person consultation/evaluation. Good luck. 

Thank you for your questions. I can understand your concern but I think you have a misunderstanding of the complication profile of this procedure. The reason this procedure is so high risk is because of something called a fat embolus. This can happen with trauma to the large gluteal veins where fat then gets into the vein and travels back to the heart and lungs. Once you understand what is usually causing the deaths in these patients, then you can appreciate that the post-op care in terms of hospital admission or not is not really helpful......the bottom line is if you do not have a fat emoblus, you are going to do fine being discharged to home the day of surgery for a normal recovery. If you have a fat embolus happen, then no amount of hospital time or post-op care is going to help, this is often a fatal complication. It is possible that if you were in the hospital, the signs could be noticed faster and treated with greater efficiency, but the question is whether or not it could actually be treated to prevent death and the answer is probably not. Bottom line, you have to decide whether the outcome is worth the risk of 1 in 3,000 chance of death. If it is not, then don't have surgery.....it's that easy. Hope this helps!Dallas R. Buchanan, MD, FACSOwner & Board-Certified Plastic SurgeonVIVIFY plastic surgery

There are number of reports in plastic surgery literature which clearly state that when elective cosmetic surgery (BBL included) is performed in ambulatory surgery center, certified plastic surgery office facility, etc.,recovery time and complication rates are significantly reduced in comparison to hospitals. Early ambulation, earlier return to "normal" activity, avoidance of contact with hospital patient which may transfer infection (flu, wound infection,Covid 19) are just some of advantages. Average cost for surgery facility and anesthesia is also lower than in hospital. Hope this helps.