How Long is Recovery for a Tummy Tuck and Brazilian Butt Lift Combo?

Thank your for your question. A tummy tuck can address the skin and
muscle laxity of the abdominal region as well as reducing the excess
fatty tissue. A brazilian butt lift helps to shape the buttock by
borrowing fat from one part (or several) and transferring this fat to
another. They are both extremely rewarding procedures. The best
approach for a patient who wants to have both procedures is to stage
them and possibly start with the BBL. Here is why:1) A brazilian
butt lift is transferring fat from one area to the buttock. One common
donor area is the tummy. Once the fat is transferred, you need to keep
pressure off the buttock as this allows new blood supply to develop to
the newly grafted fat cells. Any stress such as pressure can reduce the
efficacy of this process and hence you may lose some fat. Hence, no
sitting or laying on your bottom for ~2 weeks. 2) A tummy tuck is
removing excess skin and tightening the muscle as well as remove extra
fat. To make the skin removal efficient and protect the incision, you
surgeon will often remove skin while your hips are flexed. You will
need to maintain this position after surgery for about a week. This
will required you to sleep in a recliner position for a good week. In
addition, l often combine liposuction of the abdomen and flanks as part
of this procedure and once this fat is removed, it cannot be stored for
the brazilian buttock lift in the future.Since the recovery process
for these two popular procedures compete, I would recommend staging
them. If you are surgeon is needing as much donor areas to recruit as
much fat as possible, then I would start with the brazilian buttock lift
so you can use the abdominal and flank regions as donor areas.  Most people will need ~2 weeks before returning to work depending on the type of work they do.

Thank you for your question! For my patients having a tummy tuck and bbl procedure, I recommend they take 10 days off of work, 3 weeks off of cardio at the gym, and 6 weeks off of weight training and yoga exercises. 

The Mommy Makeover is a combination of procedures to bring a woman’s body back to the way she looked prior to pregnancy. Most commonly some variation of a #TummyTuck and #BreastSurgery are performed. Additional procedures can include liposuction, umbilical hernia repair.  The most common #breastprocedures include #mastopexy or #breastlift, #breastaugmentation, or #breastreduction.    

Healing after a  #tummytuck will require time. Some patients are out of bed and walking the night of surgery and every hour while awake. I allow my patients to return to work at one to two weeks with 14 days preferred.  However, no lifting or straining.  At three weeks, increased level of activity and full with no restrictions, at 6 weeks. #MummyTummy is a term given to modified tummy tucks which can use liposuction and skin tightening with radiofrequency such Vanquish, Vela3, thermage, thermiRF and others.  The actual fat contouring can be done non-surgically as well with #UltraShape or Cool-Sculpting.As I advise my patients, if your work keeps you sedentary, you may return whenever you feel up to it. If your work is strenuous, wait until your work activity does not cause any superficial pain. Some employers will modify a person’s job duties so they can back sooner, but without physical activity. Our office can provide our patients with a note stating they are not to engage in strenuous activity for a specified period of time. The note will not disclose what procedure they have underwent. Therefore, you may have to request a similar note from your surgeon if you are not independently employed. I recommend avoiding heavy lifting and strenuous #activity for six weeks following your surgery. With that said, it may help you plan your return to work accordingly.

As for heavy lifting and other #strenuous #activities, it should be avoided for until you have clearance from your surgeon. You may, however, do normal activities at any time if they cause no pain or #discomfort. Let your body tell you what you can or cannot do. Aerobic exercise will raise your blood pressure, which could cause late bleeding and harm your result. Once you begin exercising again, start gently and let your body tell you what it can tolerate. Don’t rush!!  If you have concerns about your healing, or pain that you question to be unusual, it is important to call your plastic surgeon to discuss these further asked to be examined.

Hello! Thank you for your question! I hope that these answers help! Tummy tuck is an excellent method for shaping the belly and create a flatter and sculpted abdomen after the procedure. Given your desires, I do believe that you would be an excellent candidate for this procedure in order to remove the excess skin/soft tissue of your lower abdomen and contour the areas of your belly. Also, abdominal wall tightening may optimize your result. Stretch marks to the level of your umbilicus will also be excised. I would highly recommend continued diet and exercise prior to any consideration for body contouring as getting down to your ideal weight prior to the procedure will certainly give you the best results. Also, a continued healthy and active lifestyle will be needed in order to maintain the benefits that the procedure has given to you. You should consult with a plastic surgeon at anytime to go over options to assist you in deciding which procedure(s) would be right for you. I typically recommend a 6 week period of no strenuous activity/vigorous exercise along with an abdominal binder for the same time period. It usually takes 6-12 weeks for full healing and swelling to subside before results final. Best wishes!

I do not think that 12 days is enough time to recover as a dental assistant that will have to move around a lot and will also have to stand. Three to four weeks would be a lot more appropriate. As you will heal simultaneously from the fat transfer to the buttocks and the abdominoplasty, it is really the tummy tuck recovery time that will limit your return to work.

Some tummy tucks are easier for the surgeon and patient's recovery alike..If you are in ideal shape and appropriate weight on average the better the result and faster the healing period and less involved the surgery. To make the initial few days easier, I would consider using Exparel, a long acting local anesthetic your surgeon can use which eliminates the need for a pain pump such as the  On-Q device. I still think it would be better to wait at least another week to return to your work as a dental assistant.


Many patients are able to return to work and daily activities within 2 weeks of surgery but they usually have a desk job as sitting is easier than standing and moving around a lot..  Softening of the surgical scars, return of sensation, and loosening of the tight sensation may take several months. Abdominoplasty recovery can be in some cases slow and uncomfortable requiring more time for a full recovery. Light activity is comfortable in 10-20 days. Sports will be more comfortable after 6 weeks.

12 days is Ok for tummy tuck or buttock augmentation but these procedures can not be combined becaused during recovery from buttock augmentation you can not lay on your buttock for at lease one week. Also, during recovery from a tummy tuck you can not lay prone for at least a week.

Typically most patients are able to return to work 10-14 days after an abdominoplasty. You will still need to recover for several weeks and avoid vigorous abominal exercising for at least 6 weeks until the muscle repair is strong enough to withstand the stress.

This combination surgery does not make sense from a recovery perspective. After a BBL, you need to stay off of your butt for a few days. Most patients end up sleeping on th stomachs- which is impossible to do after a full abdominoplasty wih fascia plication. I would recommend staging this procedure.

The Brazilian Butt Lift is, in itself, a multiple procedure and the recovery period for that procedure alone is 3 weeks. If you sit sooner than that it can prevent some of the fat grafts from surviving.

These are the key things that must happen for a fat graft to be successful:


Blood supply must reach the fat graft before it runs out of nutrients.

Blood vessels must get incorporated into the graft successfully.

All the tissues- fat grafts, blood supply, and surrounding tissues must be knit together successfully by the extracellular matrix.


It takes 3-4 days for the blood vessels to grow into the fat grafts. During the new few days, the blood vessels begin to strengthen. The extracellular matrix surrounding the fat graft takes another 2-3 weeks to reach enough strength to withstand minor stresses.

This is why 3 weeks is the absolute earliest a patient can begin stressing the tissues. You should plan for 3 weeks mostly of rest on your stomach or sides, getting up occasionally to limber up the muscles, but avoiding anything that places stress on the healing tissues.

Read more about how important recovery time is for the Brazilian Butt lift in my blog post noted in the web reference. See me talk about combining the Brazilian Butt lift with the Tummy Tuck in the video.

The combination of a tummy tuck and brazillian butt lift (fat transfer for butt augmentation) can provide a tremendous improvement in your appearance. They are a good combination of procedures to be done together. The recovery from a tummy tuck is 2-3 three weeks in my experience. The same is true for fat transfer to the butt. The combination may have a slightly longer healing time but should still fall in the range of 2-3 weeks, possibly 4 weeks. Of course, every patient is different - some will return to normal activities sooner than others. When I have patients that come in from out of town for these procedures I have them stay in Miami for 2 weeks. That is usually adequate to get them through the initial healing stages and back to activity.

If you would like more information about abdominoplasty (tummy tucks) I recommend you check out the attached link. You can also find information about the brazillian butt lift on the same website.

I hope this info helps...