Can I still get a BBL with Thalassemia & Sickle Cell Trait?

Dear Eastcoastitgirl,
it is hard to tell for sure without an examination. You will need to get a clearance from your doctor prior to surgery. If you are considering surgery, I would suggest you consult a board-certified plastic surgeon. 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

Hi Eastcoastitgirl,
Sorry to hear about your condition. Oftentimes surgery can exacerbate any underlying conditions due to stress and this can put you at an unnecessary risk during or after surgery. The risk vs benefits must be weighed in these situations as these cases are 100% elective and surgeons don't want to put your life at danger offer an aesthetic procedure. Having the trait is not as severe as having the disease itself, but it still carries a slightly increased risk of surgery complications.
Dr. Andre P. MarshallDouble Board Certified Plastic SurgeonBeverly Hills, CA 90210

I have done dozens of Thalasemia or SSTrait patients in the past without complications. A preop CBC blood test will tell me your hemoglobin level

People interested in having a surgical procedure should start the process by scheduling multiple in person consultations with local board-certified plastic surgeons. I do not recommend patients travel long distances for elective surgical procedures. They having in person consultations patients will get an accurate assessment and a thorough understanding of treatment options at the same time review medical history to see if that is going to be an issue.
I don’t recommend anybody gaining weight for fat transfer procedures. Unless someone is currently underweight and plans on maintaining the weight gain for the rest of their life it serves absolutely no purpose. most people look their best being lean and slim even though this can limit how much fat can be harvested. Instead of having slim people gain weight it’s a far better approach to simply add more areas to treat with Liposuction to get the fat needed for a well done BBL. When doing a Abdomen 360 for example surgeons should add the fall back an under armor all the way to the side of the breast. If that is not enough then arms can give spectacular Liposuction results and often even on a thin person contribute at least 150 mL of fat per side. The inner and front of the thigh and inner knee can also sometimes contribute as much as the entire torso. by treating these areas surgeons generally can get the fat they need. Slim people don’t need as much volume as heavier set individuals to get striking results.
During in person consultations ask each provider to show their entire collection of before and after pictures. Ask especially to have them show you pictures of patients who have similar body characteristics to your own. This will give you a really good idea of what results look like including patients who have had liposuction from other areas and what that looks like. Pay very close attention to the Liposuction results even if your goal is fat transfer. When things go wrong with the BBL it’s more common than it is from poorly done Liposuction. doing a lot of one procedure does not necessarily mean that someone is good at it. Generally those who do procedures on a regular basis tend to evolve and learn how to do the procedure well but that requires a commitment to bettering ourselves and a commitment to excellence. Look at their before and after pictures and look carefully at all areas treated to make sure there are no skin contour irregularities anywhere on any area treated with Liposuction. You may also want to ask the surgeon to point out what areas were treated and what areas were not treated with Liposuction so you can look carefully at transition zones between treated and on treated areas and make sure those look good.
It’s also not a bad idea to ask surgeons to show examples of excellent outcomes, average outcomes unless then outcomes. We all have them and an experienced talented surgeon who’s done a lot of cases should be confident enough to show you those type of pictures.
You will learn a lot by having in person consultations. Talented plastic surgeons are detail oriented and tend to spend sufficient amount of time during consultations and during surgery.
These procedures are permanent and if not done well can leave people disfigured.
Doing liposuction and fat transfer well is more difficult to the most people believe. finally I recommend reading all reviews on various physician review websites. I found that providers will have the least number of justified negative reviews tend to be the ones you want and the absence of justified negative reviews is far more important and far more telling than having an abundance of positive reviews.
Having an abundance of positive reviews typically doesn’t mean anything other than an aggressive marketing attempt by the practice. If the absence of justified negative results that is the most important variable despite the number of positive reviews. finally when it comes to fat grafting it is imperative that when revealing before and after pictures patients know exactly how far out from surgery the after pictures were taken. Anything less than three months is not accurate and should be discounted as a bit of a bait and switch. fat transfer results can look very good early after the procedure but long-term results are very different than what the results are early after surgery. continue having consultations in person until you found the right provider. You can also discuss your medical conditions and your doctor can explain to you in person why or why not that may be an issue. Most of us just want clearance from a hematologist as long as you’re heterozygous.
Starting the process without having had in person consultations it’s a bit of a red flag.
Without including pictures here we can’t make an assessment but perhaps you’re not looking for one at the moment.
Best,
Mats Hagstrom and MD