Can I fly home 4 days later after BBL (flight is 3 hours) and should I be worried about surgery with rods and pins?

I have patients from all over the US, Canada, Europe, Asia, Australia, etc. and there is always a way to manage a patient after a properly performed surgery. There are no hard and fast rules on when to fly after this procedure. Most would recommend a week or two before flying. The main risk is related to development of a blood clot in the legs that can then migrate to the lungs. Sitting for long periods of time puts you at higher risk due to being stationary. Pressure on the fat, etc. are also possibilities. Every surgeon will have a different recommendation flying depending upon your individual risk factors and the amount of surgery performed. Best to ask the PS who performs you BBL.

Dear Ness2020,
I instruct my patients not to sit for 2 solid weeks. We provide them a specialized pillow that our patients can sit on during that time. They can sleep on their stomachs or sides. Fat viability depends a lot of surgeon technique. The fat has to be placed back into the buttocks as soon as possible so that it has a greater chance of survival. It has to be placed carefully so that not too much fat is placed in only one area.
Daniel Barrett, MD
Certified, American Board of Plastic Surgery
Member, American Society of Plastic Surgery
Member, American Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery

Hello dear!!
Thanks for the question and provided information as well.
I recommend my patients to wait at least 10 days before flying back home, and you should not sit for more than 30 mins. every two hours, for the first 2 weeks, and always with the help of a boppy pillow. If you have any concerns, I suggest you follow up close with your plastic surgeon.
Hope this is helpful. Good luck :)

Hello, thanks for your question. The problem is not flying but staying in your seat for three hours. When patients come from abroad, we recommend staying at least for a week in our Recovery House, to be professionally assisted during the post-op period. After BBL, you must avoid sitting to prevent any problem and keep the butt contour, you'll have a special pillow to seat. After that time, you'll have an exam to consider the convenience to take a travel. Regularly, you can do it using your pillow. Consult a board-certified plastic surgeon in your area for a physical exam. Good luck!

These are all questions you should’ve talk to your surgeon about during your consultation if you had one.

If you have not had a consultation than I suggest having some in person consultations.

The following is a list of recommendations for patient seeking cosmetic surgery
1. I recommend patients avoid traveling long distances for elective surgical procedures. There are of course instances where there is a lack of local talent and traveling to some degree is inevitable. If traveling for the procedure patients should be ready to travel to have the consultation, post operative appointments and follow up should there be issues or complications.
Patients sometimes do not appreciate the importance of in person consultations, that complications do happen or the number of people who have issues with their results or need revisions.

2. Schedule multiple consultations with different providers in your area who seem to have a good reputation for the procedure you’re interested in. Starting with at least five consultations seems like a reasonable number to me.

3. Whenever possible schedule in person consultations.
4. During in person consultations ask each plastic surgeon to show all of their before and after pictures for the procedure you’re interested in.

The goal is not to see the best results of their career but to get an idea of what average results look like and get some type of confirmation of how many of these procedures that provider has performed.

Ask to see results that were not as good as the doctor would’ve hoped for and talk about the differences in outcomes.

Honest and experienced providers should have no problems presenting this type of information.

A highly experienced plastic surgeon should have hundreds of before and after pictures for the procedure you’re interested in. At a minimum at least 20+.

5. Read all the reviews on various physician review websites paying close attention and avoiding providers with any significant number of justified negative reviews. Providers with an abundance of reviews often have aggressive marketing campaigns.

The plastic surgeons I respect most all have the single variable of not having justified negative reviews on their online profiles.
In my opinion justified negative reviews are far more telling than an abundance of positive reviews.

6. Avoid scheduling for surgery or making a deposit on the day of the consultation. Give yourself some time to think about the decision and make sure you finished all scheduled consultations before committing to having surgery that will permanently and irreversibly change your body.

When in doubt slow down and schedule more consultations.

Choosing the right plastic surgeon is the single most important variable to having a positive experience.

7. Don’t go chasing after technology or names of certain equipment. Instead focus all your efforts on finding the most experienced and talented board-certified plastic surgeon.

Best,

Mats Hagstrom MD