There are numerous potential complications that can happen after a BBL.Fortunately most of them are quite rare.By far the most common complication is a poor aesthetic outcome.Whether this is a complication or not is in the eye of the beholder.Second most common complication is probably fat necrosis or lumpiness.You can also collect the development of scar tissue.Again everyone will have this to some degree but in some patients it happens to the point of being a problem.With this could also, oil cyst formation. These last complications can be minimized by not aggressively grafting fat during a single session.This is something patients generally do not like.The number one complaint after a BBL is not maintaining enough volume.Telling a patient I'm only going to graft a small amount of fat because I want to keep this as safe as possible but probably not lead a plastic surgeon to retain many patients.Obviously the other side of the spectrum is undesirable as well.Grafting so much fat there's a high likelihood of a complication is highly undesirable and something all plastic surgeons will avoid.after that hematoma for May Chin is probably the most common complication.This is very difficult to eliminate because both fat transfer and liposuction are blind procedures.In other words the procedure is done through a tiny opening and we're not able to see potential blood vessels that could be damaged during the procedure.There are, however, techniques that can minimize the chance of developing excessive bleeding which is the cause of forming a hematoma.These include making sure patients do not take blood thinners such as aspirin or ibuprofen A minimum of one week before the procedure.Diligent use of tumescent solution is critical to minimize bleeding.Surgeons need to slow down and spend the required amount of time to carefully put tumescent solution through every tissue layer that's going to be treated either with fat transfer or liposuction whether the procedure is done awake or with general anesthesia.The proper use of tumescent solution is by far the most important factor in minimizing bleeding.Tumescent solution contains epinephrine which causes blood vessels to tightly constrict.The blood vessel constriction caused by epinephrine shuts off the blood supply temporarily to the tissues we are working on.My best analogy for this is turning off the water before you do any plumbing.Otherwise water will spray all over the place.I've never had as a seroma develop from either liposuction or fat transfer.I'm guessing that these are exceedingly rare in the areas treated with such transfer I can happen in the areas treated with liposuction.Avoiding aggressive movement with large cannula's and avoiding the use of VASER types of liposuction are probably the best ways to minimize this.More serious complications include blood clot for May Chin in deep veins called DVT's.These are fairly random but there are risk factors that need to be assessed before surgery.Surgeons who take careful medical histories will have a better chance at eliminating these by taking proper precautions. Avoiding General Anastasia also lowers the chance of developing blood clots substantially. Fat embolism's are rare but can be very dangerous.When this happens a small piece of fat usually from fat grafting but possibly from liposuction gets caught inside a vein.The fat will travel through the vein and eventually get stuck in a long.This can make patients very sick.While fat embolism's have been reported they are very rare.Infections can happen and can lead to devastating outcomes.Infections are also quite uncommon with these procedures but to happen.Infections can best be minimized by using sterile technique, using anabiotic's appropriately and not overdrafting during a single session.Recognizing an infection and treating it early can have an in Normas impact on the outcome of the patient.Infections can lead to tissue necrosis and disfigurement.They can also lead to fatal outcomes.Infections are extremely uncommon with liposuction but are slightly more common with fat transfer.Another potentially serious complication is called compartment syndrome.This generally does not happen from liposuction but can happen in areas treated with fat transfer.Compartment syndrome is unusual but can happen it from over grafting too much fat in a single session, the development of a severe hematoma or a combination of both.It happens when there is too much volume in a certain anatomic space coughing so much pressure on the tissues that the blood supply is shut off. This concept can be easily demonstrated by pushing your finger against the back of your hand.When you let your finger off you will see a temporary blanching.That's because the pressure of your finger pushed the blood out of the capillaries. Excessive pressure on tissues will compress capillaries blocking the ability for blood flow at this microscopic level.This can lead to tissues to ischemic necrosis in other words causing the tissues to die because of a lack of the delivery of oxygen.There are certainly many more complications that can happen.If you, I or any plastic surgeon can think of them it could happen.When reviewing complications possible from a procedure it's important to put things into proper context.This is what we do when we decide to get in the car and drive.We all know the driving can lead to fatal automobile accidents but we're willing to take the chance because of the benefits and the fairly low chance of serious accidents happening.patients can minimize the chance of developing complications by controlling their weight before surgery, not smoking cigarettes before or after the procedure, maintaining nutritional and physical health, properly managing any underlying medical conditions such as high blood pressure or diabetes, avoiding the use of any type a blood thinner prior to surgery and being honest with your plastic surgeon and thorough and describing your medical history.The level of detail of my answer or description is probably somewhat beyond what you could expect a plastic surgeon to discuss during a consultation or preoperative visit.Still, doctors have a legal obligation to discuss potential risks and benefits of any procedure performed unless done so in an emergency setting in order to obtain what is referred to as informed consent.The best way to minimize complications is to be in the hands of a safe talented board certified plastic surgeon and maintain overall good health as a patient.Best,Mats Hagstrom M.D.
