Is it true doctors in Florida are limited by law on how much fat they are allowed to harvest for a BBL. And some Doctors are cutting corners by using a fat and water mix. How can I tell if the surgeon I choose will use purified fat and not a fat/water mix.
January 5, 2019
Answer: Injecting water fat mix when performing BBL? Thank you for this great question. I think you are onto something significant but might not have it entirely straight. Let me see if I can clarify. In Florida, doctors are limited to 4 liters of liposuctioned fat. This is not the same as the lipoaspirate. When liposuction is performed, the lipoaspirate is what is removed. This is a combination of viable fat cells, ruptured fat cells, oil, tumescent fluid, blood, etc. The 4L limit refers only the fat portion of that mixture. Total lipoaspirate could be 4-7 liters, but only 4 or less might be fat. There are several surgeons out there that in an effort to achieve "large" BBLs, they transfer the entire lipoaspirate mixture back into the body without purifying it, resulting in a big number in terms of cc's transferred but the bottom line is there is a significant portion of that transfer that is not viable fat. It might look good the day of surgery, or even a few weeks later, but over time, that patient is going to absorb and lose that volume and be unhappy with the result as it fades away. In my practice, I prefer to use the Revolve system to process and purify the fat prior to transfer. This system basically spins and washes the harvested fat to remove all of the things you do not want and leave you with high-quality, viable fat to transfer. This might result in a "smaller" BBL on the day of surgery, but this fat has a much higher rate of survival and I think yields a better, safer, and more predictable end result. The only way you can know what you are getting into is to find a plastic surgeon who is board certified by the American Society of Plastic Surgery and who is committed to honest and ethical practice and safety as the number one priority. Discuss with him or her exactly how they perform the operation and decide who might be the right fit for you.Best of luck!Dallas R. Buchanan, MD, FACSOwner & Board-Certified Plastic SurgeonVIVIFY plastic surgery
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January 5, 2019
Answer: Injecting water fat mix when performing BBL? Thank you for this great question. I think you are onto something significant but might not have it entirely straight. Let me see if I can clarify. In Florida, doctors are limited to 4 liters of liposuctioned fat. This is not the same as the lipoaspirate. When liposuction is performed, the lipoaspirate is what is removed. This is a combination of viable fat cells, ruptured fat cells, oil, tumescent fluid, blood, etc. The 4L limit refers only the fat portion of that mixture. Total lipoaspirate could be 4-7 liters, but only 4 or less might be fat. There are several surgeons out there that in an effort to achieve "large" BBLs, they transfer the entire lipoaspirate mixture back into the body without purifying it, resulting in a big number in terms of cc's transferred but the bottom line is there is a significant portion of that transfer that is not viable fat. It might look good the day of surgery, or even a few weeks later, but over time, that patient is going to absorb and lose that volume and be unhappy with the result as it fades away. In my practice, I prefer to use the Revolve system to process and purify the fat prior to transfer. This system basically spins and washes the harvested fat to remove all of the things you do not want and leave you with high-quality, viable fat to transfer. This might result in a "smaller" BBL on the day of surgery, but this fat has a much higher rate of survival and I think yields a better, safer, and more predictable end result. The only way you can know what you are getting into is to find a plastic surgeon who is board certified by the American Society of Plastic Surgery and who is committed to honest and ethical practice and safety as the number one priority. Discuss with him or her exactly how they perform the operation and decide who might be the right fit for you.Best of luck!Dallas R. Buchanan, MD, FACSOwner & Board-Certified Plastic SurgeonVIVIFY plastic surgery
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January 4, 2019
Answer: BBL Thank you for your questions. It is true that there is a limit on how much fat can be removed in one operation. There is also a limit on how much fat can be grafted to a buttocks, but that depends on the patients anatomy. Different states have different legal limits, but none are low enough that you wouldn't get a noticeable result when fat grafting to the buttocks. Most limits are high enough, that even if you reached the limit, you wouldn't place that limit in the buttocks anyways. As far as the fat/water mix, I have never seen any surgeons use this method. Often times saline will be added to the fat that is harvested but that's actually done to improve separation of other fluid and oil from the fat that will be used. That saline/fluid is drawn out of the canister that the fat sits in prior to pulling it up to harvest. I recommend visiting a Board Certified Plastic Surgeon who can discuss liposuction amounts with you, as well as a realistic expectation for buttock projection, and the process of fat grafting. Good luck and best wishes!
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January 4, 2019
Answer: BBL Thank you for your questions. It is true that there is a limit on how much fat can be removed in one operation. There is also a limit on how much fat can be grafted to a buttocks, but that depends on the patients anatomy. Different states have different legal limits, but none are low enough that you wouldn't get a noticeable result when fat grafting to the buttocks. Most limits are high enough, that even if you reached the limit, you wouldn't place that limit in the buttocks anyways. As far as the fat/water mix, I have never seen any surgeons use this method. Often times saline will be added to the fat that is harvested but that's actually done to improve separation of other fluid and oil from the fat that will be used. That saline/fluid is drawn out of the canister that the fat sits in prior to pulling it up to harvest. I recommend visiting a Board Certified Plastic Surgeon who can discuss liposuction amounts with you, as well as a realistic expectation for buttock projection, and the process of fat grafting. Good luck and best wishes!
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