How to avoid infection with 360 liposuction & BBL?

Hello alexandrea12, 
It’s a pleasure to answer your questions! The occurrence of infection after liposuction and Brazilian Butt Lift (BBL) is fortunately very rare (infections develop in about 1-3 out of every 100 patients who have surgery). Some of the common symptoms of surgical site infection are: redness and pain around the area treated; drainage of cloudy fluid from the surgical wound, and fever (above 100.4 F). BBL patients can actively contribute in the prevention of surgical infections by implementing the following measures: 1) Let your surgeon know about other health problems you may have before surgery, since health conditions such as allergies, diabetes and obesity could affect your surgery and treatment; 2) as smoking delays proper healing and increases the risk of infection, stop smoking at least 4 weeks before getting BBL surgery. Moreover, smoking is proven to reduce blood circulation in the body, which can cause the newly transplanted fat cells to reabsorb. 3) Do not shave the area where you are having surgery the day before, because shaving with a razor can irritate the skin and make it easier to develop an infection; 4) take a good shower with an antiseptic or antibacterial soap the night and morning before the surgery. Furthermore, after surgery: 5) make sure that your health care providers clean their hands before examining you whether with water, soap or an alcohol hand sanitizer; 6) family and friends who visit you should wash their hands with soap and water or alcohol hand sanitizer before and after visiting and do not touch your surgical wounds or dressings. When you get home: 7) always wash hands before and after treating the wounds; 8) change and wash the compression garments every day; 9) the waist foam corset can be clean only with Hydrogen peroxide or hand wash and avoid machine or dryer; 10) take a shower daily with antiseptic or antibacterial soap until you are fully recovered; 11) Don’t skip your antibiotics and take them as prescribed by your physician. Hope this is helpful! Dr. De La Cruz.  

Hi and thank you for your question. Infections are extremely rare after liposuction. The most important steps are done by the doctor which mean giving you a full body circumferential prep on the day of surgery and making sure you get the antibiotics IV prior to the start of the surgery. That is why it is always important to choose a Board Certified plastic surgeon before making a decision to go to the operating room.

Good luck on your journey!

Michael Frederick MD

Harvard Trained Plastic Surgeon