Brazilian butt lift. My surgeon told me my butt will continue to shrink, then the fat cells will stabilize and grow larger

Question

I had a fat transfer on November 20, at that time I was 133 and 5’1. It’s been a little over 3 weeks since I’ve had my operation and my butt looks almost like it did before surgery. I’ve only sat down a handful of times for less than 30 mins at a time. My surgeon told me that my butt will continue to shrink and then in 6-8 months the fat cells will stabilize and grow larger. Is this true?

Daniel Barrett, MD · Answer

Dear anon212,Fat viability depends a lot of surgeon technique. The fat has to be placed back into the buttocks as soon as possible so that it has a greater chance of survival.
 It has to be placed carefully so that not too much fat is placed in only one area. In most cases, 30-40% of transferred fat is lost after few months and that should be your final size and shape. In case you gain weight, it is likely that your transferred fat cells will increase in size. Daniel Barrett, MD, MHA, MS 
Certified, American Board of Plastic Surgery  
Member, Am. Society of Plastic Surgery

Luis A. Mejia, MD · Answer

Hello, thanks for your question and provided information. Yes it will continue to shrink for 4 to 6 months from surgery. If you lose or gain weight, your fat cells will grow or decrease.

John Paul Tutela, MD · Answer

Thanks so much for reaching out.  It is true that some of the fat cells transferred in surgery resorb.  The national average is about 50% goes away within a year.  I think my patients have higher retention rates, because of better patient education sessions.  The fat that is transferred has been torn away from its blood supply, which keeps it alive.  Then in the new position that it is injected, your body tries to grow blood vessels into that fat to keep it alive.  the more you are smooshing it by sitting or any pressure on it the harder it is for that fat to survive.  I give my patient explicit instructions that they cannot sit at all or lay on their back or sides for 2 weeks. Then they can sit in a limited fashion for only up to 5-10 minutes at a time for the following 4 weeks. It can be a burden, but I think it helps improve results.I hope this helps :)

Carolina Restrepo, MD · Answer

Thank you for your question. With Brazilian butt lift we transfer fat from one area of the body to the other. These fat cells are transferred in microinjections throughout multiple planes in the buttock tissue so that they can gain new blood supply and live in their new home, providing increased volume and shape to the buttocks. After surgery there is a predictable swelling process that mostly resolves over two months, when the final result really settles in.  Around 70% of fat that is grafted is typically xpected to survive long term.

Daniel P. Markmann, MD · Answer

Yes! Absolutely!   That is, if the procedure is done correctly!!!      I have been performing BBL surgeries for about 20 years now.      I have performed measurements on my patients of their waist and their Hips/Buttocks as well as their weight!     All my patients wake up with a buttocks that is significantly larger than it was before surgery.  If yours is not, then either you didn't have a BBL or your surgeon didn't put enough fat into it to be noticed!   This usually takes a large volume of fat!    What I have documented over and over, is that my patients buttocks will be significantly larger (usually several inches) when they wake up than before surgery.   Then as their swelling begins to subside, their buttocks will begin to shrink.   The waist and abdomen on the other hand, should be significantly smaller when you wake up.  Your abdomen, waist, flanks and your butt will all be swollen from surgery when you wake up.   All these areas will begin to shrink about a week or 2 after surgery.  The abdomen, waist and flanks will typically shrink and soften for up to 3 months as your swelling subsides.  The Buttocks area however, will typically only shrink for about the first 4-5 weeks.   Usually the hip/buttocks measurement at week 6 will show an increase over the prior couple weeks.  This is in spite of either maintaining or even losing weight!!!!!     This is what many people on Realself call "Fluffing".  I believe this is due to the volume of the new blood vessels that are forming, connecting to the new fat cells as well as the formation of new fat cells.  A large part of getting good results is thought to be the transfer of STEM CELLS!.  My technique includes transfer of stem cells to improve these results.   It has been shown that these stem cells will create more fat cells if this procedure is done correctly!   
So, Yes!   That statement is partially true.  6-8 months down the road, your buttocks may get larger, but this is probably only going to happen if you gain weight.  If the procedure is done correctly, your buttocks should be significantly larger and your waistline should be significantly smaller than it was before surgery.  To do this procedure correctly, My Techniques takes about 6 hours on average!   It takes longer than many surgeons, but, I have seen many of my patients back 10 years or longer after surgery and their hip/butt measurements still remain about the same as their measurement at 3 months as long as their weight remains about the same as well!   My technique works!   Permanently!

Steven Wallach, MD · Answer

I find that most within the first 6-8 weeks will shrink from the swelling subsiding. The only way the buttock will enlarge or the fat cells that survive, is if you gain weight.

Erika Sato, MD, FACS · Answer

Your butt will continue to shrink for up to 6 months. The fat cells placed into your butt will only grow larger if you gain weight. Even at 3 weeks your butt should still look bigger as a lot of the shrinking has not even happened yet.

Brazilian butt lift. My surgeon told me my butt will continue to shrink, then the fat cells will stabilize and grow larger

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