If I start to gain weight back will it go to my butt or will those fat cells no longer exist?

Thank you for your question.
Since you have more fat cells in your buttocks now, fat will tend to accumulate in that area. All The Best !

About 60% of fat from the transfer is retained and the results are permanent. The size will change with your weight just as the rest of your body does. In other words, the fat acts like it was naturally there. You can get a good idea of the final result after 6 months.

This is a very common question. Your recently injected fat cells are going to go through the same 30-50% rate of loss or reabsoprtion as long as you are not smoking, sitting on the butt, eating normal calories, and doing all the usual stuff your doctor asked you to do. After those fat cells have “taken” and grown their blood supply, they’re yours to have and keep. Gaining or losing weight after surgery is going to generally keep your same proportions....your belly will get a bit bigger, but your butt will also get bigger. The opposite is true as well....if you lose weight, your belly will get smaller but so will your butt.

Remember that a lot of your butt size is “relative” to your waist. So since your ratio should generally stay the same as your weight goes up and down, you should be able to keep your new results just fine. This second week of weight loss may be due to you losing some of the water weight you take on with surgery. I wouldn’t worry about these few weeks of weight loss. Just listen to your surgeons Recs and enjoy your new body. Good luck with your journey!

Ramsen Azizi M.D.
Double Board Certified Plastic Surgeon
R.A.M. Plastic Surgery - Chicago

Hello and thanks for your question!  The fat that was transferred to your buttocks will behave like it did when it was in the part of the body from which it was taken.  This was probably from your abdomen.  If you tended to gain or lose weight in your abdomen, your butt will now react that way, rather than the way your butt reacted prior to the surgery.
Hope that helps!

Patients will commonly wonder what the effects of liposuction will be on their weight and more specifically their ability to gain or lose weight in treated and untreated areas. 
After puberty, an individual will have the same population of fat cells for the remainder of their lives (barring an intervention). Any changes in weight will manifest not as more or less fat cells but rather swelling or shrinking of those very same fat cells.
Liposuction destroys or reduces the population of fat cells in a treated area. These cells once gone are gone for good. The treated areas now harbor a reduced population of cells and consequentially have a reduced potential for weight gain or weight loss. However, a reduced potential does not make changes in these areas absolutely impossible. The remaining cells can still swell with weight gain potentially compromising a cosmetic result.
The final component is the least understood. This is that of weight/fat distribution. It remains unclear how the body directs particular populations to change. Patients will often lament that attempts at weight loss are frustrated by losses in areas not targeted and weight gain by contrast goes directly to perceived problem areas. It is impossible to predict how a patient will respond to weight gain. While we know that treated areas must theoretically have a lower potential for growth by virtue of reduced adipocyte populations, this does not necessarily always hold true with some patients always demonstrating the effects of weight gain in the same predictable areas. Similarly, post operative weight gain is not always manifested in untreated areas (i.e. your stated concerns of ballooning in the face/upper back/calves).
The best advice one can give is to reach a stable healthy weight pre-operatively and try to maintain post-operatively.
As always, discuss your concerns with a board certified plastic surgeon (ABPS).

Dear LeeAnna47,
you will likely see your weight gain in a uniform distribution after a fat transfer to the buttock (Brazilian buttock lift). The weight or fat that you gain after surgery will not necessarily all go to your buttock area. Similar to weight loss, It’s important to realize that weight loss will affect the entire body, but it may affect the buttock in a more pronounced manner.
Daniel Barrett, MD
Certified, American Board of Plastic Surgery
Member, American Society of Plastic Surgery
Member, American Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery

Hello,

Thank you for sharing the information, it is a pleasure for me to answer your question.

Following the recommendations of your surgeon is very important. The recovery takes around 4 to 6 weeks, the position to sleep on your back can be done after 2 weeks,  you must perform lymphatic drainage massages, for me more, and you can continue your normal activities, perform light exercises, then increase the routine without any problem.
I hope this answer will help you

My best wishes for you...

The majority of fat cells, approximately 60% to 70%, do survive the BBL fat transfer and will exist long term.  These fat cells can and do grow larger, if one gains weight.  That said, I recommend to my patients that they maintain a normal, healthy weight (BMI 18.5 to 24.9), both before and after their procedure.  Best wishes, Dr. Lepore.