Should I go for a Brazilian butt lift or butt implants? (Photos)

Allow me to answer your question as best i can based upon your photos. However, please keep in mind that an in-person, or at least a virtual, consultation with physical exam is first necessary before any legitimate evaluation or final surgical recommendations can be made.

There are currently only two FDA approved surgical options for augmenting the buttock/hip area: 1) Buttock and cosmetic Hip Implants (which are soft semi-solid silicone rubber implants that cannot rupture &/or leak) and 2)Brazilian Butt Lift (aka BBL) - which utilizes the patients own fat from liposuction then transfers this fat into the buttock. On the other hand, BBL using Sculptra is a dangerous waste of money and is NOT FDA approved. and/or hips and . So what it comes down to, like any surgery, is proper patient selection and long-term results. Implants provide the only guarantee for a sustained permanent result and tend to be ideal for perking up not only lean or deflated buttocks but also providing substantial projection to any butt, which is what every single patient wants.

Unfortunately, fat typically melts away leaving disappointing results after 12 months, often sooner. Unless your BBL surgeon is injecting only 200 to 300 ccs of fat into each buttock cheek, a large percentage of that fat is going to die. Dead fat leads to dents and dimpling like cellulite, unevenness, loss of projection, and fatty necrotic oil cysts which are hard marbles and can be very tender
Unfortunately, because ~70+ % of the fat transferred will melt away within a year, most patients are not good candidates for BBL because they lack an adequate amount of fat to harvest. Beware, if a surgeon asks you to purposely gain weight (i.e. fat) before BBL, know that the fat you lose first as you get back to your baseline weight after surgery is that very same fat that was transferred into your buttock, hence your new buttock shrinks first, the fastest, and the most...so please do not fall victim to this recommendation. Even those patients that had adequate amounts of fat pre-operatively, still end up seeking buttock implants after a year or so because most of the fat transferred melted away leaving them with minimal result. Fillers such as Sculptra are cost prohibitive, provided enough volume is injected (i.e. at least 400 cc of active ingredient costing over $300,000) and last only 12 - 18 months. So, if you're looking for a reliable, predictable, and long-term permanent option that also provides projection in the central buttock, buttock and hip implants are your solution. Please note that an extremely few number of board certified plastic surgeons specialize in buttock implants, so you may need to travel far and away from home to find this particular surgeon. I hope this is useful information for everyone. Glad to help.

Dear Blaze1984, thanks for sharing your pictures and concerns, for a BBL post op you will need to follow a diet with some carbs to mantein the fat and with implants you must to stop exercises like crossfit for a while. But every plastic surgeon has his own postoperative protocol which he recommends to his patients. Make sure you go on consultation with a board-certified plastic surgeon. Hope this helps and best of lucks. Dr. Luis Mejia.

Based on these photos, you may not have sufficient fat volume to achieve desired augmentation. For that reason, combination of implant and fat grafts may be an option. In person consultation with a board certified plastic surgeon who performs both procedures, is recommended. Good luck.

Dear Blaze,
Thanks for posting your pictures. BBL is a total waste of your time and money because the fat disappears completely or almost completely within few months or even sooner. Think about it this way, if large amount of fat injection would have been reliable and consistent, most women would have preferred it for breasts augmentation over breasts implants. The reality is that the number one cosmetic surgery in the US is breasts augmentation with implants !!!
Butt implants is your only option for butt augmentation, because they do not disappear and when done by expert surgeon the look very attractive and natural.
Always consults with experienced board certified plastic surgeons who perform lots of butt implants surgery in accredited surgery center for your safety. Most importantly, check the before and after pictures in the photo gallery to make sure that they are numerous, consistent, attractive and natural looking.
Best of luck,
Dr Widder,
widderplasticsurgery.com

Dear Blaze1984,
based on your photos, you look like a good candidate for a BBL. Liposuction of your abdomen, back 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

Buttock implants are a longer lasting solution with amazing results. Please be sure to choose a board-certified plastic surgeon who specializes in this procedure and is well known for their work in the medical community.

I’ve been a board-certified plastic surgeon for 25 years. The last 10 years of practice I’ve been devoted exclusively to doing on the liposuction and fat transfer procedures.
Honestly I don’t think I’ve ever seen a male with gluteal implants though I’m sure men have gotten the procedure in the past.
You’ll find quite diverging views on gluteal implants. The great majority of plastic surgeons do not offer the procedure and will steer you away from them myself included.
The few doctors could do them will tell you everything that’s wrong about fat transfer.
I suggest the first thing you ask yourself is why don’t most plastic surgeons offer gluteal implants when on their list of procedures they seem to be happy doing just about every conceivable moneymaking operation ever thought of.
As a general statement gluteal implants has a high complication rate and high rates of patient dissatisfaction. The key to gluteal implants is to have it done by providers who have an extensive amount of experience and specifically place the implants intramuscularly. The implant must be sized appropriately to properly fit inside the gluteus muscles. If done this way and done correctly then a lot of the negative aspects of the procedure are reduced. True intramuscular implants well not show their address or allow the implant to flip or move positions.
There are still the higher infection rates wound dehiscence etc. complication rates are lower with smaller implants.
Generally the goal for a male BBL is to give posterior projection and not add volume to the hip dip or hip areas. I suppose it depends what the patient is trying to achieve but if the goal is to maintain a masculine look then fat should not be added laterally like it is in a female BBL.
Personally I think the male BBL procedure is grossly under rated and should be performed far more often than it is. my experience with the procedure has been excellent with very high patient satisfaction.
Personally I do not believe anyone should ever gain weight for the purpose of having a fat transfer procedure. If someone has an insufficient amount of fat for the procedure from doing Liposuction of the Abdomen than more areas should be included with the Liposuction. The first place to go is to finish treating the entire torso what should also include the entire back, armpit and under arm area as well as the chest. Men typically do not have fat on their extremities but if they do then that is also a source to harvest fat. Lean people tend to have very good quality fat that tends to survive well. Lean people often also simply need less volume to look better because they tend to be lean everywhere else so the amount of volume for an appropriate augmentation typically isn’t that much. on the other hand obese people sometimes require large volumes of fat transfer to keep up with the rest of their obese body.
In some cases highly athletic lean people simply do not have enough fat that can be harvest to justify doing the procedure. In that case options become more limited but typically those patients usually especially if they exercise already look better than the majority of people anyway.
Delivering consistent quality liposuction and fat transfer results is more difficult than most people including plastic surgeons believe.
Most plastic surgeons you consult with will tell you they have a lot of experience with Liposuction for sure and some will have experience with fat transfer and others may not.
To master either or both of the procedures means going through a long steep learning curve.
Simply being board-certified in plastic surgery with an overall good reputation is insufficient to confirm that somebody is truly talented and experienced in both Liposuction and fat transfer.
Like I mentioned earlier the approach to the BBL in men is quite different than it is in women but this again depends on what the patient is trying to achieve.
The process is still pretty much the same. Your job is to find the most talented and experienced provider in your community.
I don’t believe it’s possible to do that without having numerous in person consultations.
During in person consultations ask each provider to show their entire collection of mail BBL results.
Makes absolutely sure that after pictures are taken at least three months from the date of procedure.
Early postoperative fat transfer results can look very impressive but do not at all represent final results and this is especially true for lower BMI patients.
Ask the provider to specifically show previous patient with similar body characteristics to your own.
It may be difficult for someone to show impressive collection of male BBL before and after pictures.
To put things in perspective I’ve been doing liposuction and fat transfer for 25 years. The last 10 years were divided exclusively for to only Liposuction and fat transfer.
To date I have done over 8000 liposuction and fat transfer procedures.
I do a male BBL about once every two years. as I mentioned earlier I think it is a highly underrated procedure but the demand does not seem to be there.
I would imagine the statistics for implants is even lower.
Finally before committing to having surgery with anyone provider I suggest reading all reviews on all the various physician review websites avoiding providers with any significant number of justified negative reviews.
The absence of justified negative reviews is more important and more telling than having an abundance of positive reviews.
In the end nobody has to have gluteal augmentation and unfortunately the procedure can get a bit complex and some individuals are better candidates for it than others.
Generally speaking I would stay away from implants.
If you opt for implants then make absolutely sure you’re working with a surgeon who does gluteal implants as one of the primary procedures of their practice meaning that they specialize in gluteal implants, have a proven track record and are using appropriate techniques of exclusively placing implants intramuscularly.
Best,
Mats Hagstrom MD