How to Help my Fat Survive After a BBL?

After the Brazilian Butt Lift surgery, the patient must not put pressure on the fat grafts for a period of 3 weeks. Ideally, not sit at all on the new fat grafts for 3 weeks to allow a full 'take.'

Why 3 weeks? 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.

Plan to spend the 3 weeks mostly resting on your stomach or sides, getting up occasionally to limber up the muscles, but avoiding things that place stress on the healing tissues.

The Brazilian Butt Lift utilizes your own natural fat for
the augmentation. One of the keys of the
fat transfer is that it is incorporated and becomes your fat just in a better
place!



The key is how do we maximize the amount of fat that is
going “take” or survive for the augmentation. One of the things that can help increase the
amount of fat that stays after the transfer is preventing any trauma to the
buttock area, that includes sitting. The pressure of sitting can be harmful to
the fat for the first couple of weeks after the transfer.



The second important part of the Brazilian Butt Lift is the
compression garment as you are asking. I
do think it is important that you have a specialized garment after your
procedure. I have tried various
garments, with and without material over the buttock area. From a patient comfort standpoint I have
found that the garments with a very soft mesh over the buttock has been
best. However this is personal decision
between you and your surgeon.


There are special pillows that patients can purchase that avoids any pressure
on the buttock in the post-operative period so that they can sit at work and
still protect their fat transfer procedure.



I hope this helps, be sure to discuss this with your board
certified plastic surgeon.

Thanks for your question...Continue to follow your PS post op instructions. This may include not sitting/putting any pressure for a certain amount of time. As well, avoid smoking.You can learn more on our social media (Instagram and Snapchat): @realdrsix.

Regards,

Brazilian Butt Lift recovery time is dependent on how the patient’s body reacts to the procedure. Patients usually return to work after a week but you should not sit without the use of cushions for at least two weeks and you must wear a compression garment for several weeks after the procedure. Swelling and discomfort normally fades at six weeks. After about a month you will be mostly healed and you can get a nice idea of the results after around six months. About 60% of fat from the transfer is retained.

BBL outcomes are entirely dependent upon graft viability and survival. The greater the survival, the more successful the outcome. These grafts are very pressure sensitive as pressure decreases local blood flow which then potentially compromises the graft take.
The recommendations for prolonged sitting/unrelieved pressure will vary from one physician to another. I generally recommend avoiding prolonged sitting for a month or so. Occasional rest periods for sitting using a specialized pillow with escalating frequency and length are progressively integrated as a patient heals.
A traditional desk job should be avoided for at least a few weeks. A specialized pressure relief pillow is an absolute. I recommend patients work towards 1 hour total of seated resting per day by the 4 week mark.
As always, discuss your concerns with your board certified plastic surgeon (ABPS). 

Thank you for question. Every surgeon has a different recovery protocol so it is best to talk with your plastic surgeon about what he/she recommends for you. With that said, I advise my patients not to sit on their rear ends at all for the first week. After then they may sit for short periods of time with a pillow under your legs above the knee for 8weeks and some patients use a special BBL pillow to alleviate pressure on the buttocks. I would not recommend sitting normally without a pillow for 8 weeks. Good luck!