Is the Brazilian Butt Lift fixable? If so, what procedure will I need? (photos)

You are in good company with many others who had high hopes for BBL but instead received disappointing results (lumpiness, unevenness, lack of projection in the central and/or lower buttock, post-deflation sagging, etc.). It is not quite as much the quality of the doctor but rather the quality of the procedure that is a large part of the problem. Thus, going back for round 2 BBL most often produces the same disappointing results but at another financial loss. Buttock implants indeed provide a more reliable, predictable, relatively safe, and permanent result, especially for adding projection to the buttock and often smoothing out lumpiness. Occasionally a lower buttock tuck may be advantageous for lower buttock fold asymmetries and/or sagging. Please keep in mind that an extremely few number of board-certified plastic surgeons specialize in buttock implants so be sure to consult with one that is reputable and experienced. Unfortunately you may have to travel long and far away from home to find this particular surgeon. Glad to help.

Dear Modest606688,
I understand your concern. However, without a proper assessment, it would be difficult to determine what went wrong. It is best that you visit your plastic surgeon for further assessment or ask for a second opinion. Only after a thorough examination, you can get proper recommendations and advice.
Daniel Barrett, MD
Certified, American Board of Plastic Surgery
Member, American Society of Plastic Surgery
Member, American Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery

What you have is a shelf deformity that can only be fixed with a lateral thigh and buttock tuck.
Based on your pictures, you are an excellent candidate for a Brazilian Butt Lift (BBL) revision. The optimal BBL revision outcomes are achieved with: 1) use of VASER liposuction to harvest the fat since your fat has already been harvested 2) a closed looped system to process the fat in order to optimize transfer time and avoid your fat from becoming contaminated and 3) strategic micro-packet transplant technique that maximizes graft take. These three processes have demonstrated over 95% fat graft take. This means that your results will be stable as long as you maintain your weight. Finally, attention must be given to providing you the buttock shape that YOU desire. This means using our proprietary BBL assessment tool. As an official VASER trainer, I am routinely referred unhappy BBL patients. One of the most common reasons for disgruntled BBL patients is that patients are not able to accurately communicate their desired buttocks goals to their surgeons. Our buttock assessment tool can be an invaluable tool to communicate to your surgeon the exact buttocks size and shape you are desiring. A Skype or FaceTime consultation with a BBL specialist can help you get an accurate recommendation and pricing.

Respectfully,
Arian Mowlavi MD, FACS
Realself 100 Hall of Fame Inductee

In order for us to assess the outcome of a cosmetic surgical procedure we need to see what you look like before.

What’s someone looks like after the procedure without seeing before pictures does not give us any insight into what was actually done since people have very different fat distributions naturally.

If you don’t have proper before and after pictures then ask your provider to forward the ones they took.

It looks like the transition of your buttocks to waist needs to be lowered and this is done with Liposuction. I’m wondering if that was removed from your thighs below your buttocks. That is done by some providers but in my opinion is a mistake. The way I do these procedures is try to create a long sweeping smooth continuous S-curve from the armpit to the knee.

Others try to emphasize creating a large butt on a thin thigh what I call the lollipop look.

Delivering consistent high-quality Liposuction and fat transfer results is more difficult than people believe including providers.

Liposuction is probably the best procedure and there is clearly room for improvement.

I question why you had a BBL in the first place or if it was even indicated.

It’s very important to know if Liposuction was done on your thigh.

If so volume may need to be built up in this area with a few rounds of fat transfer.

Revision work is more difficult than Primary work. I cannot emphasize enough the importance of choosing the most talented and experienced providers.

Do that I having lots and lots of in person consultations with local board-certified plastic surgeons who seem to have a lot of experience with the BBL procedure.

Ask providers to show their entire collection of before and after pictures and in your case of revision work.

An experience to provider should have no difficulty showing you at least 50 quality sets of before and after pictures. Haily experience providers will have hundreds or possibly thousands of just BBL before and after pictures.

The second thing to look for with providers who have the least number of justified negative reviews and various physician review websites.

Find the right plastic surgeon and everything falls into place.

Best,

Mats Hagstrom MD