How long do I need to wait to be able to sit after a BBL?

 Great question. I’m sure you’ll get a lot of different answers because there’s no excepted protocol.   Certainly there are patients who have tummy tucks and Brazilian butt lift at the same time and they’re laying on the buttocks immediately after surgery. Patients who have never had fat injections sit on their buttocks all the time and don’t kill fat cells. The reason being is we’re always shifting our weight so it’s not on the same place for any prolonged periods of time. Certainly getting up and walking would be great. Perhaps halfway to work and again on the way back you can get out of the car.  Alternatively just shifting a little bit from one side to the other every 15 minutes or so would also be beneficial.  After two weeks the fat should have reestablish blood supply. 

Thank you for your question! For my patients having a bbl procedure, I recommend they stay completely off of their buttocks for the first 10 days post op, then start using the bbl pillow for the following 3 weeks. The bbl pillow can be used in the car as well. Best of luck!

Hi Jasbella
The key issue is not impeding the blood supply to the fat until it has ‘taken’. Pressure on the buttock will decrease the blood supply so i get my patients to avoid sitting and lying on the back for 2 weeks. One week would be the absolute minimum but there may be some fat cells at 1 week which are marginal and would benefit from more time. If you have to travel for work you can purchase BBL pillows off the internet which can help. 
Regards
Damien

Hello jasbellabella,
I appreciate your questions! Plastic surgeons have different post-operative protocols, customized for each patient’s needs and specific requirements, to achieve optimal results. Based on my experience, after performing BBL surgery you must avoid sitting or sleeping on your back at least the first 8 weeks or else the desired outcome will be negatively affected. Putting pressure on your buttocks by sitting down or laying on it, especially for long periods of time, can stiffen, deform and even cause the resorption on the newly transplanted fat cells. In the case you can’t absolutely elude sitting, I would recommend you doing it in a modified position, placing a bolster or rolled-up towel under the back of the thighs while sitting down, as to avoid significant pressure. Also, there is a variety of post BBL surgery support cushions available on the market. Hope this is helpful! Dr. De La Cruz.  

Thanks for your question. Every surgeon will have his/her own preferences as to recovery for specific procedures. Postoperatively, no specific position is indicated and we do not have any sitting restrictions.  The pressure caused by sitting is not sufficient to affect viability of the fat cells and so the postsurgical position depends basically on comfort and any other operations that have been performed. 

The longer a patient can go without sitting after a fat transfer to the buttock procedure, the better the long term survival of fat cells will be . On the low end about two weeks is the minimum, up to six weeks would be ideal. Even after the first week or so, patients can use a pillow to modify their sitting such that no pressure is on the buttocks but rather on the back of the thighs. I hope this helps clarify the issue.Best wishes,Dr.Bruno

There are no hard and fast rules on when to drive or for what
distance after a BBL once you are no longer taking pain medication. Most
plastic surgeons would recommend limiting your driving the first 6 to 8
weeks following the BBL. I recommend that my patients minimize sitting,
even with a pillow, for the first two weeks. If they have to sit, it is
critical that every 30 minutes or an hour that patients get up and
stand for a few seconds to take the pressure off. This reduces the
chance for fat necrosis.  Driving is much worst than sitting as pushing
on the accelerator or brake involves pushing back against the buttocks
and lower back.
Kenneth Hughes, MD, ABPS Board Certified Plastic Surgeon
Los Angeles, CA

Dear jasbellabella,
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.
But every plastic surgeon has his own postoperative protocol which he recommends to his patients. I would suggest you to discuss this with your plastic surgeon.
Daniel Barrett, MD
Certified, American Board of Plastic Surgery
Member, American Society of Plastic Surgery
Member, American Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery

Every surgeon has a different recovery protocol so it is best to talk
with your plastic surgeon about what he/she recommends for you. With
that said, short answer is 8 weeks. I advise my patients not to sit on
their rear ends at all for the first week, this includes driving. After
then they may sit for short periods of time with a pillow under your
legs above the knee for 8 weeks, it doesn't have to be a special BBL
pillow if you don't want to draw attention to it. I would not recommend
sitting normally without a pillow or sleeping on your back/butt for 8
weeks. 
Kamran Azad, MD, Board Certified Plastic Surgeon

There is no universally accepted protocol for sitting or not sitting after a BBL. Some people believe that if you sit on your buttock that the fat is going to migrate and you will lose shape... that is not true. The injected fat is stuck in a matrix of other soft tissues and is largely stuck wherever the surgeon put it. Swelling and fluid can change with pressure but these don't matter in the long term anyway. 
So what about fat survival? Well the fat that is grafted needs new access to oxygen which means it needs adequate blood flow to the area because blood brings oxygen. If you pinch your finger it turns from pink to white as the blood is pushed out. When you sit down on your buttock you're putting a similar pressure and are squeezing out the blood supply from the area. No blood means no oxygen which means fat grafting death. So how long can the fat cells survive without oxygen? Its hard to say, brain cells start to die after 8 minutes but fat and skin cells can last longer. The bottom line is that you want to make sure blood is flowing to the area regularly. So if you're sitting... get up every 15 minutes and walk around for bit to get the blood back and flowing to the area. What you don't want to do is get on a plane and stay in your seat for 8 hours because that will certainly result in poor fat survival. Ultimately as long as you use the common sense above I think the most important aspect of a good BBL outcome is surgical technique; properly putting in the fat in a dispersed manner throughout the buttock to maximize the contact of the fat to living tissue in the right shape.