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!

Around 50-60% of what you see now will remain in the end. Try to avoid pressure on your buttocks and hips as much as possible. Sleeping on your belly is ideal, but so many people are not comfortable that way. Most women are concerned about how to sit and what buttock pillow to use. In my hands, most of the grafts are placed in the upper and mid buttocks and in the hips to augment the overall shape of the buttocks. In these areas, sitting really doesn't place pressure on them. I always tell my patients to do the best you can. Good luck and congrats!

Thank you for the question.  Recovering from a Brazilian Butt Lift is a little more demanding that some other liposuction procedures. It is important to avoid sitting directly on your buttocks for at least 10 days after treatment. This is extremely important as it can affect blood circulation to the area and potentially destroy the transferred fat cells.

Thank you for your question! It is very important that you do not sit directly on your buttocks for 2-3 weeks after surgery.  Ideally 4 weeks. Whatever fat is left after 4 weeks is the fat that will stay for years to come.  Also always wear the garmet provided by your doctor and follow all of your post care.  Best of luck!Dr Dhaval PatelDouble Board Certified Plastic SurgeonChicagoHoffman EstatesOak Brook

It’s important to realize that fat cells are very fragile in
the immediate post-operative period. In fact, 20-40% of these fat cells may not
survive fat cell grafting. This situation doesn’t improve until these fat cells
have re-established blood supply with the surrounding tissue. In most cases
this takes about two weeks to occur. At this point, fat cells become less
sensitive to the effects of pressure and are less likely to be damaged by
sitting or lying on the buttocks.Several
steps can be taken to increase fat cell survival. For instance, we limit
sitting or lying on the buttocks to one hour intervals for the first two weeks
following surgery. When patients do sit in a chair, they should rest their
weight on their posterior thighs away from their buttocks, In addition they
should utilize an inflatable pillow whenever possible. When sleeping they
should lie on either their side or abdomen to avoid pressure on the buttock.These
routines place obvious limitation on physical activity for post-operative
patients. Unfortunately failure to comply with these recommendations can result
in cell damage from pressure. This can result in contour irregularities and a
less than optimal result.

Thank you for your question!  I have always advocated for staying off your buttock for as long as you possibly can.  This means, do not sit on your butt for at least 3-4 weeks.  This allows the fat to gain its vascularity to survive in its new home, i.e., the buttock.  I always advise to either stand or lay on your stomach for first month and the results can be amazing!!Other tips include staying well hydrated especially for the first 6 months after a BBL.  Eating a good diet without ingesting any processed foods.  Exercise probably starting around 8 weeks post op to allow the fat to not be displaced or stressed after surgery.I hope this helps!