How many cc of fat is required to achieve this look for a skinny BBL? (photos)

Question

I’m 5’4, 108lbs and I was wondering if this is possible to achieve. I’m going to guesstimate from my previous experience with Inbody and DEXA scans and say I have anywhere from 20-23% body fat and anywhere from 21-24lbs of fat on my body. My question is about how many cc of fat could you take out of my body? And about how many cc of fat will I need to achieve these wish pic? Is this a realist result for a skinny bbl?

Semih Yildiz, MD, FEPOBRAS · Answer

Your photos show a very lean frame with limited visible donor fat, and the wish photos show a modest but noticeable increase in buttock projection and some lateral fullness. This is the type of goal where the limiting factor is usually not the desired number of cc, but how much usable fat can be safely harvested and how much your tissues can accept.

At 5'4" and 108 lbs, you may be a candidate for a "skinny BBL," but expectations need to be modest. The amount removed during liposuction is not the same as the amount that can be grafted, because the aspirate contains fluid, blood, and damaged fat cells, and not all transferred fat survives. In very lean patients, surgeons may only be able to place a few hundred cc per side, while the wish-photo change might require several hundred cc per side depending on your hip width, skin tightness, and fat retention.

It is not safe or realistic to think of removing most of your total body fat. A surgeon has to leave a healthy fat layer, avoid contour dents, respect safe liposuction limits, and only inject fat in the proper subcutaneous plane. Gaining a small amount of stable weight may help some patients have more donor fat, but it does not mean the fat will be in useful areas or that the final shape will match the wish photo.

A good consultation should include donor-site mapping of the abdomen, flanks, back, thighs, and arms; an estimate of harvestable fat; and a discussion of how much projection versus hip contour is realistic. Ask specifically about BBL safety technique, including avoiding intramuscular injection and using an experienced, safety-focused surgeon. The realistic goal is likely a subtle to moderate improvement rather than a dramatic transformation.

Daniel Barrett, MD · Answer

Dear PetiteAnon,
it is hard to tell for sure without an examination. You need to have extra fat somewhere in order to be harvested and transferred. If you are considering surgery, I would suggest you consult a board-certified plastic surgeon. Only after a thorough examination, you will get more information and recommendations.
Daniel Barrett, MDCertified, American Board of Plastic SurgeryMember, American Society of Plastic SurgeryMember, American Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery

Daniel P. Markmann, MD · Answer

Unfortunately, I don't think you have any where near enough fat available to get the results of your wish pics or anywhere near that.   You are about 10-15lbs underweight.    I have been doing BBL's for 27 years and have done many skinny women.   But, unfortunately you are just not a good candidate.   Sorry.

Mats Hagstrom, MD (license on probation) · Answer

You have a good looking body, and in my opinion having the BBL is not justified.
It’s not a matter of wanting more gluteal volume. It is the implication of harvesting sufficient fat
To get enough fat to justify having fat transfer. You need to have almost your entire body treated with liposuction.
 The fact that some calculation says you have 21 pounds of fat does not mean you have 21 pounds of fat readily available for harvest using Liposuction.
Your torso has thin, subcutaneous, fat layer, and you probably have more fat in your thighs than you do in your torso.
Regardless, you should ask yourself if you’re willing to have liposuction of your entire body because that’s what’s required to get enough fat to have a visible change.
With every area treated with liposuction, there will be incisions that will leave scars.
There’s also the chance of ending up with the wrong provider despite your best effort and this could lead to or having undesirable liposuction results, and this type of outcome is a reversible.
This is the risk and the negatives that need to be weighed against the potential positive which is subtle on a body that already looks good.
For all of these reasons it doesn’t make sense to me to do it.
The risk benefit ratio is not sufficient to justify you having a BBL.
Enjoy being slim, attractive, and athletic.
Do not gain weight for the purpose of having fat transfer.
Doing so will not make you happy.
It never does.
I’m usually pretty optimistic. And my practice is focused. Exclusively undo only Liposuction and fat transfer.
I’m 62 years old that I’ve been doing this for a long time.
To get a really accurate assessment you absolutely need an in person consultation.
There’s no way we can come even close to estimating how much fat can be removed. Based on pictures and numbers.
 Estimating how much fat can be removed from low BMI patients is perhaps the most difficult thing I do in my daily practice.
Usually the results are more optimistic than what I had anticipated, but sometimes I am wrong, and then patience have spent thousands of dollars end up with scars and nothing to show for.
This is pretty unusual in my practice because I usually steer these people away from having surgery.
I’m pretty open minded and I’m willing to engage into discussion to hear what people have to say, and definitely am always willing to make an in person assessment Because you never know.
I had one patient who wanted breast fat and we were assuming that we would harvest the fat from her abdomen and back a.k.a. torso.
When I examined her, she had no fat harvest, but when I examined her lower extremities, this is where she carried some fat.
In the end we did thigh liposuction for breast fat transfer and was able to successfully harvest 700 cc of fat, which was ideal for her breast fat transfer.
Her BMI was similar to yours or close to it.
In her case she had virtually no subcutaneous fat on her midsection, but she carried it in her lower extremities.
Sometimes patients may have fat under arms or some other area that hasn’t been considered so you never know.
Finding providers who have mastered both Liposuction and fat transfer is not easy at all.
The number of providers who are really good at both Liposuction and fat transfer is small.
Most plastic surgeons think they’re better at Liposuction than they actually are.
If done poorly, these procedures can leave people permanently disfigured.
This actually happens and unfortunately it happens all too often.
I usually don’t give it yes or no answers for these type of questions.
The answer is always somewhere on the spectrum and in the end patients should ask themselves if a subtle result is worth having that much surgery.
Best,
Mats Hagstrom, MD

How many cc of fat is required to achieve this look for a skinny BBL? (photos)

Answers (4)

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