What's the Maximum Amount of Fat That Can Be Safely Harvested to Perform a BBL?

First find a lab that is FDA approved for fat storage, and they will have a figure for you. Thank you for your question and good luck.

Hi there-

There is no legal limit on what can be removed during the liposuction portion of your Brazilian Butt Lift.

On the other, hand, most experienced, ethical, and safe plastic surgeons are in agreement that your safety would require limiting the aspiration to less than 4 liters of fat- unless there are plans to admit you to a hospital for the initial recovery period.

Rest assured, however, that this is a LOT of fat, and that in my experience, assuming you have this much fat available for removal, chances are that what actually limits the amount grafted will not be how much can be removed, but how much can be grafted and expected to survive.

There is a limit to avoid complications after any liposuction technique. It is well established in the plastic surgery literature that 5-6 liters is what is considered a safe liposuction. During a Brazilian butt lift, I inject a fluid called tumescence solution. This solution helps control the bleeding and also pain and discomfort. Typically, the fluid that is removed only 30 – 40 % is fat; the rest is blood, saline, and medications. For a Brazilian butt lift, I generally inject 6-7 liters of fluid prior to liposuction. I remove a similar amount of fat and fluid but only about 2 liters is fat that can be used.


I routinely keep the patient for 24hrs for observation. There are lots of fluid changes  that can rarely cause problems.

Generally speaking, you don't want to remove more than 5 liters of fat (in an outpatient setting) during a fat transfer procedure. From that amount you may only get 1.5-2 liters of pure fat this is able to be reinjected; which is a large amount- about 750-1000cc per side. There is no maximum amount of fat  which can be removed, only guidelines. You should be evaluated by a board certified plastic surgeon to determine first if you are a good candidate and second, what the right amount of fat would be to get the best results in your particular case.

Best wishes,

Dr.Bruno

There is no maximum or minimum amount, but with my liposuction techniques, I never harvest anything less than 700 cc per side, with my maximum being between 1100CC to 1300 CC. That is based solely on the ability to do aggressive liposuction in teh donor areas that we work on. Also not every patient can get that amount if they truly don't have teh fat in donor areas to give, and that is when we discuss other areas such as arms to obtain additional fat.

I hope this helps.

Dr. Salama