Claire’s question: My sister Grace told me she’s considering a plastic surgery procedure to improve her posterior. What can you tell me about the Brazilian Butt Lift?

The Right Brain butts in:
Claire, normally we try to focus on cosmetic products but it’s hard to resist an email that combines the terms “Brazilian” and “Butt” in the same question. So, we checked with our favorite cosmetic surgeon, Dr. Tony Youn, for the 411 on butt lifting.

What is a Brazilian Butt Lift?

As the name implies, it’s a procedure to shape and firm your derrière. We wonder why it’s named after this particular country. Was it first performed by doctors in Brazil? Do Brazilian women have genetically superior asses? Or is the process some how related to Brazil nuts? We can only speculate…

Whatever the derivation of its name, a BBL is designed to give you “youthful, prominent, perky buttocks.” How does it work? Fat grafting! That means the surgeon uses liposuction to remove fat from your lower back, stomach and thighs. The fat is purified and then re-injected into different areas of your buttocks at various depths. It may take hundreds of tiny injections to fill the upper quadrant of your buttocks but when done correctly it does make your butt look better. But a poor injection job can be painful and produce fat shapeless buttocks.

Are there any problems with this perky pooper procedure?

Aside from the aforementioned shapeless buttocks, other side effects include irregular asymmetric skin, numbness, bruising and swelling. On occasion, the incisions may ooze significant fluid. And since the doctor may need to overfill your buttocks to allow for some fat re-absorption back into your body, your butt may temporarily look puffy or swollen. The good news is that unlike silicone butt implants, there is no risk of allergic reaction since the fat injections are your own natural substance.

To avoid some of these issues Dr Youn says: “My favorite way to enhance the buttocks, however, is to liposuction the hips and thighs around it. This essentially makes everything around it smaller, and can indirectly make the bottom look bigger and rounder compared to the rest of the body. It doesn’t take as much time, has few complications, and allows the patient to sit down immediately.”

How many bucks will it cost to lift my butt?

According to what we found on other sites (these are not Dr. Youn’s prices), the average cost of a Brazilian Butt Lift is about $15,000. That includes the physician’s fee, anesthesia, hospital costs, post operative nursing care, and all post operative office visits.

So tell your sister that for the price of a new car, she can have the rear end of her dreams.

Curious about to see how much better your behind be? Click here to see some before and after butt lift pictures.