Can I use front leg fat for BBL? If not, why? (photos)

I don't usually have number limits on BBL's and never recommend gaining weight. I don't know if you have 2000cc of fat in your body however a significant impact from the BBL procedure is actually from the liposuction of the torso- it gets things to look shapely right away. The fat volume increase to the buttocks enhances your shape. Maybe get a 2nd opinion from someone with more BBL experience?
Best Wishes!!

Hi, thank you for sharing your question. You can liposuction from any areas of extra fat in order to harvest for BBL. You appear to have some fat but an in person evaluation may be needed to gauge exactly.

Dr. Kenneth Hughes of Hughes Plastic Surgery has liposuctioned the abdomen, sides, flanks, lower back, upper back, posterior neck, submental areas, jowls, arms, thighs, calves, ankles, buttocks, hips, knees, cheeks. Notably absent from the list are the earlobes and digits. There is very little fat present on those areas.

Thank you for your question. Based on the pictures we can obtain the fat from your bally, waist, laterals pubic area and inner thighs and to take the fat we get and transfer to the buttocks and hips, to mold them and get better volume, contour and butt projection, is that we know as "Brazilian Butt Lift" (BBL).

Kind regards,
Dr. Emmanuel Mallol Cotes.-

Hello. Thank you for your question. Your photos and BMI indicate that you are in very good shape with very good proportions. I believe that this is a question of 'expectation' rather than 'actual numbers.' You would be able to liposuction the abdomen, flanks, peri-buttocks, arms, etc. There will be a lot of shaping that occurs with liposuction that will help shape your torso even without fat transfer. There is no issue with suctioning the inner thighs and anterior legs except that the surgeon will have to be very limited in the volume removed so as to avoid contour deformities. Some amount of fat will be harvested and will contribute to the total harvest amount. It may only be a couple hundred cc. The total volume would be prepared for fat transfer. It may be that you only have 500, 600, or 700 cc/side. But that might make a very nice contour enhancement to an already very nice shape. I am not a fan of gaining weight for the sake of transfer. Best of luck! Jules A Feledy, Jr, MD American Board of Plastic Surgery, American Society of Plastic Surgery.

Dear Carinne White,
based on your photos, you look like a good candidate for a BBL. Liposuction of your abdomen, back legs, and flanks should give you more curves and hourglass shape and fat transfer to buttocks should give you more projection. I would suggest you to consult a board-certified plastic surgeon because only after a thorough examination you will get more information and recommendations.
Daniel Barrett, MD
Certified, American Board of Plastic Surgery
Member, American Society of Plastic Surgery
Member, American Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery

You are so unrealistic to think you have 2000 cc's of transferrable fat. Plus lipo of anterior thighs in skinny legs will leave denting and severe irregularities. If more than 1 surgeon has refused surgery, you must consider the potential results would not be acceptable. Either try to gain 20 pounds or use approved Sculptra/Radeisse injections to hip dips. Or "wish upon a star..."

I don’t think you have as much fat as you think. 5 foot seven is pretty tall for 128 pounds. I do not recommend anybody gain weight for fat transfer procedures. Are you really planning on maintaining the new obese weight for the rest of your life to support the BBL. Otherwise it doesn’t make sense to gain weight.

LobiMI patients instead need to have more areas treated to harvest and not fat to justify the procedure. The torso is almost always the go to area because it delivers the most amount of fat and it complements the BBL the best. That said fat can be harvested from Enny area. My typical second to go to area after the tour so if more fat is The arms because it tends to give aesthetically better results the lower extremities. That said lower extremities typically deliver more fat than the torso.

Extremity Liposuction is technically challenging and especially lower extremity liposuction. The results often do not turn out the way patience and hoped for but someone who has skill and can deliver.

My practice has been devoted exclusively to liposuction and fat transfer procedures for over a decade. I spent the first 10 years of practice doing general plastic surgery. A more liposuction and fat transfer experience than the great majority of providers will ever have in their entire career because I specialize exclusively on these two procedures only.

The one consistent thing I’ve learned by regularly posting unreal self and spending years doing this type of work is that delivering consistent high-quality liposuction and fat transfer results is much more difficult than people believe.

I don’t think Liposuction from the front of your thighs will possibly deliver anything close to 2 L so fat based on your BMI but it is still a possible source for fat particularly if combined with treating your full torso.

For low bmi patients the question should be are you willing to have Liposuction of that many areas to get a quality fat transfer procedure.

Likewise low BMI patients don’t need as much fat for a quality fat transfer as larger and higher BMI patients.

You may get a perfectly acceptable BBL with 600 mL a fat per side.

Determining how much fat can be removed and I’ll be in my patience is a daunting task. If the surgeon is wrong they really end up with egg on their face.

If someone’s fat thickness is 1/4 inch thick it looks almost identical to one that is 3/8 of an inch. The difference in Liposuction volume ends up being a minimum of 50% difference in what can be obtained.

Assessing how much fat could be obtained is still gonna be a guessing game and always requires an examination.

Personally I don’t know why plastic surgeons are not willing to include your extremities. That would be my approach but extremities alone will not do the job for a BBL for you.

Best,

Mats Hagstrom MD

Hello and thank you for your question. If you want a noticeable result from a BBL, you most likely will have to gain weight based on your pictures. Although some fat would be able to be retrieved (even from your front thighs), it would not be enough to produce a quality outcome. Please see a board-certified physician for your consultation. Best of luck to you!

Sincerely, James Fernau, MD
FACS Aesthetic Surgery Certified, American Board of Plastic Surgery Certified, American Board of Otolaryngology/Head & Neck Surgery Member: American Society of Plastic Surgery (ASPS) American Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ASAPS) International Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ISAPS) American Academy of Facial Plastic Reconstructive Surgery (AAFPRS) American Academy of Otolaryngology/Head & Neck Surgery (AAOHNS) American Society for Laser Medicine and Surgery (ASLMS) The Rhinoplasty Society