Brazilian Butt Lift Side Effects and Complications

Obviously, most people go into a plastic surgeon all excited about the benefits they are going to experience from the procedure they are planning. It is refreshing to have someone ask specifically about the risks because it is so important to understand the potential problems that can occur. Liposuction has gotten a bad rap over the years. It truly can be a very safe procedure when done by a properly trained surgeon and when it is used in an appropriate manner. Liposuction is not for weight loss. It is best used to fine tune contour in areas that cannot be exercised away.
As a surgical procedure done under general anesthesia, liposuction exposes patients to all of the normal possible post-operative complications. These include bleeding, infection, poor wound healing and possible persistence or reoccurrence of the original problem. Because of these issues we take specific precautions to lessen your risks. All patients are asked to stop any blood thinning products (ie. Asprin, Ibuprofin, Motrin, Aleve, etc.) to reduce the chance of bleeding. Antibiotics are routinely given to reduce the risk of infection. Your activity will be restricted during the early healing process to allow for better healing and less risk of stitches popping or swelling, distorting your results. Compression garments are also worn to reduce the tension and swelling on the operative areas. There are some more rare complications that can be very scary. Blood clots can cause difficulty breathing or even death. All patients are screened for risk factors for blood clots, and if necessary a controlled blood thinner can be prescribed to lessen that possibility. Compression on the legs also improves circulation and with the surgery you will wear either support stockings or ted hose that provide compression. Finally, getting up and walking and moving your legs and ankles helps pump the blood and prevents pooling of blood and clotting. 

An extremely rare complication called fat embolism can potentially occur when fat globules get released into the blood stream and travel to the lungs or brain and cause problems. This happens frequently from trauma with long bone fractures (so the symptoms are well understood), but there are a few reported cases in the literature of this actually happening after liposuction. You would experience symptoms of confusion or difficulty breathing not explained by other sources.

You and your doctor will be watching for any of these signs or symptoms after surgery to catch things early and lessen your potential for problems. All surgery carries with it risks. You just have to determine whether the benefits outweigh the risks for you.

Thank you for your question!  Since most of a BBL is body contouring using liposuction technique, the complications parallel liposuction complications.  I always present these potential complications to my patients which include, but not limited to: bleeding, infection, contour irregularities (unevenness), intra-abdominal penetration of organs, numbness, skin tone discolorations that could be permanent, dehydration, fat embolism and pulmonary embolism (both can be lethal).  These complications are very unlikely, but it is very important for patients to know what could happen in these rare events.  Because the operation can take up to 4 hours or so, blood clots in the legs could develop (known as deep venous thrombosis) that could travel into your heart and lungs.  Often these complications may be magnified by lifestyle, medications, and body habitus.  This is why, as surgical professionals, we advise diet and weight loss for our overweight patients. Being too overweight can increase risks of bleeding, wound healing, and blood clots.  Also, reviewing the medications as some may potentially add to risks of blood clots such as hormone replacement therapy and birth control pills. The fat transfer portion of the operation has its own unique set of complications.  Inadvertent intra-venous injection of fat could prove the most serious complication as the fat could travel to the heart and lungs.  Fat necrosis from transferred fat not being cleared by your system and can coalesce into fat cysts and hardness in the buttock.  This may require aspiration at a distant time after the surgery.  To note, pre-operative dimples in the buttock most often are not corrected by BBLs and can be interpreted as a side effect to surgery.  Rather, the dimples could possibly be exaggerated with BBLs.  Please discuss this with your surgeon.  Other side effects, I have seen more commonly include skin discoloration especially on the side of the abdomen and inner thighs.  This may be due to hemosiderin staining where the iron in red blood cells can "stain" a region and may take months to clear, less commonly permanent staining.  I hope this helps those interested in BBLs.  

Generally speaking a Brazilian butt lift is a very safe procedure. The complications are not volume related. The most common complications are swelling and bruising which resolve over the first month. Also, you can expect to lose 30 to 50% of the fat injected. 
If the fat is not correctly injected some of it can die and you may feel lumps, this is called fatty necrosis. Fluid collections or seromas can occur if there is too much undermining. These complications depend on the surgeon's technique and can be completely avoided. 
The most dreaded complication is a fat embolism which occurs in less than .1% of the cases. This convocation can be completely avoided by your surgeon by not injecting into the muscle layer and using a large blunt cannula. #StayBeautiful @RealDrWorldWide