What are the highest credentials a surgeon can have specifically for BBL?

Hello @arynkier, thank you for your question. As there is no specific distinction or credential for this surgery, since the surgical technique when performing a BBL is varied and depends not only on the knowledge of the specialist, but also on the technology used and of course his expertise. When choosing the plastic surgeon with whom you are going to perform the surgery it is crucial that you consult with several specialists, document yourself about their work, ask for their credentials and references, and decide on who you trust the most to carry out the surgery. Best wishes! Alan Gonzalez MD FACS

Thank you for your question. My recommendation is to be consulted by board certified plastic surgeon, specialized in Body Contour, who knows individualize each patient to give you the better advice.

Respectfully,
Dr. Emmanuel Mallol Cotes.-

Dear arynkier,
finding the right Dr. is extremely challenging especially with the number of online platforms and resources available. There a lot of great Dr's available. Make sure he/she is a board-certified plastic surgeon. Definitely check to make sure your choice specializes in the procedure you want and spend the time to read through patient testimonials. There is a number of different sites where you can check for reviews (Realself, yelp, google, etc.).You can always pick up the phone and call around also, find an office you feel comfortable with and set up a few consultations.
Daniel Barrett, MD
Certified, American Board of Plastic Surgery
Member, American Society of Plastic Surgery
Member, American Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery

Hi, arynkier! Thank you for your question.
BBL is a difficult surgery that requires expertise and special care. Unfortunately it is difficult to choose your doctor even with certifications. Pay attention to these factors: Have your operation in a full-fledged hospital. Be sure your doctor stays away from the gluteal muscles and thus vessels to prevent fat emboli.
As you are driving, you must stay away from work for a month and after you need to use the special BBL pillow.

During my residency I never performed a single BBL. I did my first gluteal fat transfer in 2004. At that time determined Brazilian butt lift had not been invented and the procedure had not really been described in any textbooks.
Personally I developed my skill in both Liposuction and fat transfer a gradually by taking on at first smaller and easier cases and eventually got to where I am today.
Other than spending a few days with surgeons who offer training courses or attending a conference each plastic surgeon has to figure out how to do surgery on their own if it wasn’t picked up during their residency.
This is why choosing experienced providers is so critical.
It takes years to master body contouring skills and there is simply no possible way that someone can deliver consistent quality results without experience.
Experience without a dedication towards excellence is also insufficient.
The learning curve to improve techniques for both Liposuction and fat transfer or slow.
It takes three months before we see the results of our work.
It’s hard to remember exactly just how much or where you did liposuction or how tight the tissue was when you were grafting three months ago when you’re finally looking at the actual outcome.
Unless you do the procedures on a regular basis providers often don’t progress and evolve their skills.
Likewise if providers don’t get consistent quality results the procedure becomes less enjoyable and the truth is most plastic surgeons aren’t all that excited about doing Liposuction nor are they particularly good at it. there are however a significant number of providers who have learned how to do the procedure very well, are excited about both Liposuction and fat transfer and do it well consistently. personally I take my time and find that all great plastic surgeons take the time it needs to do surgery correctly. I’ve never met a rushed surgeon who delivers great results.
I want time asked the operating room nurse at the hospital I used to work at who he thought were the best plastic surgeons on staff at the hospital. The nurse had been there for many years and was smart enough to not give a list of names.
His answer was “ The surgeons who don’t look at the clock get the best result”. Anyone who does 10 BBL procedures in one day is either having other people do some of the work or are doing quick and dirty surgery. getting through 10 major cases in one day requires cutting corners.
Surgeons typically are used to working long hours and work our restrictions is something relatively new in medicine. during my residency training hundred hour work weeks were pretty much standard and my single sleep deprivation work record came on the trauma service when I was on call every other day and it worked 2x 40 hour shifts without sleep back to back with six hours of sleep in between. I literally only slept six hours during an 86 hour period of time. The next day I turned off my alarm clock and slept in and somehow nobody fired me.
At that time it was routine for surgical residents to work over 36 hours without sleep on a regular basis. Things have changed and Resident training is not like it used to be.
Having two board certification really offers no advantage for anyone particular procedure. doctors who brag about accomplishments by posting things like double board-certified really are just trying to self promote.
Defined the right provider for a BBL look for board-certified plastic surgeons with at least 10 years of experience and consider the following.
Delivering consistent high-quality liposuction and fat transfer results is more difficult than most people believe in this is true for both patients and plastic surgeons. Most plastic surgeons think they are better at liposuction than they actually are. Liposuction and fat transfer has more variance or difference in outcome purely based on who does the procedure than any other surgical procedure I’ve ever seen. Being board-certified in plastic surgery with an overall good reputation is not sufficient to guarantee that somebody has mastered body contouring with liposuction and fat transfer. Personally I view the torso as a single anatomic unit and either treated the entire torso or don’t do Liposuction. There are of course exceptions but for the most part I believe in treating the entire torso. A full torso includes upper abdomen, lower abdomen, love handles all the way down to the hip dips, waist, the entire back and under arm area all the way to the side of the breast. this leaves people with a natural thin fat distribution without transition zones between treated and entrteded areas. I’ve viewed the BBL as an enhancement to body contouring creating an ideal feminine S-curve that goes from the armpit to the knee. I did not emphasize a large buttocks with liposuction of the outer thigh creating a big round butt on the small leg which I sometimes called the “lollipop look”. Instead I emphasize long smooth harmonious curves creating a slightly hyper feminized balanced figure. To find the most talented and experienced provider in your community I suggest having multiple in person consultations. I do not recommend patients travel for elective surgical procedures and I recommend patients whenever possible avoid virtual consultations. During in person consultations ask each provider to show their entire collection of before and after pictures of BBL results. Always confirm that after pictures were taken at least three months from the time of surgery. anybody who shows early postoperative pictures such as pictures with patients still showing surgical drawings on them, being in the operating room or any evidence of recently having had surgery should be immediately discounted as showing “.fake news”. Early fat transfer results can look very impressive but do not at all represent final results. Ask the provider to show you examples of excellent outcomes, average outcomes and less than outcomes. Specifically ask each provider to show as many pictures as possible‘s of patients who have similar body characteristics to your own. An experienced provider should have no difficulty showing you a minimum of 50+ sets of before and after pictures. Simply seeing a handful of pre-selected sample pictures which in reality most likely represent the best results of that providers career is insufficient to get a clear understanding of what average results look like for that provider. Highly experienced providers will have hundreds or even thousands of before and after pictures and should be willing to give you access during the consultation to see as many pictures as possible. If somebody claims to of done a lot of surgery but doesn’t have a lot of before and after pictures then you should ask yourself why? Do not commit to surgery or pay a down payment during the time of consultation until you’ve finished all your consultations and have given yourself plenty of time to think about your decision. The results from these procedures are permanent and irreversible. When in doubt slow down and schedule more consultations. Finally I recommend patients read all reviews on all various physician review websites avoiding providers for any significant number of justified negative reviews. The absence of justified negative reviews is more important and more telling and having an abundance of positive reviews. Plastic surgeons with the biggest social media profiles are not necessarily any more talented than those who have no websites at all. Famous or likable does not equal talented. Find the right plastic surgeon and everything falls into place. Good luck, Mats Hagstrom MD