The Brazilian Butt-lift, otherwise known as fat transfer to the gluteal region, is designed to enhance the shape and size of the buttocks. The technique utilizes minimal incisions and allows for a fairly fast recovery and return to normal activity.
Fat transfer is a technique that is several decades old but has only with-n the last years, becoming fairly standardized and routine. The idea behind the fat transfer is for the surgeon to harvest fat from one region of the body and then transfer it to another region. The fat that is transferred then "takes" as a graft. The components of the procedure were worked out in the 1990's by Dr. Sidney Coleman.
Up until Dr. Coleman's refinements, fat transfer was fraught with fat loss and volume loss after the fat was transferred. What Dr. Coleman discovered that if the fat was injected in very small amounts through a given region, then most of the fat would survive. This is because the small fat cells were surrounded by a healthy tissue that would allow for blood vessel in-growth into the transferred fat. The reason fat did not take with other techniques is because the fat was injured as a large glob and new blood vessels could not grow in before the fat began to die.
Dr. Coleman presented his technique using it primarily for domestic enhancement in the aging face. Numerous surgeons took that experience and expanded upon it using it for fat transfer in the buttocks, breasts and other soft tissue areas.
There are basically two techniques available to the Plastic Surgeon for enhancing the volume of the buttocks: buttocks silicone implants, and fat transfer.
Fat transfer involves the surgeon using liposuction to harvest fat from one region of the body and then concentrating the fat and injecting it into another. Classicly, patients may be bothered by the size of their abdomen or inner thighs. The procedure starts by making a tiny hidden incision in the area for liposuction. Then a fluid called tumescent solution is injected into the fat of the area. The tumescent solution helps prevent bleeding and also provides anesthesia to the area. Classicly patients are sedated or sleep for the procedure, however, many have opted to have the operation done while they were awake.
Next, a small hollow tube called a cannula, attached to suction and a collection device, is inserted into the fat. Suctioning of the fat in the region is then performed. It is critical that fine, artistic technique is utilized to aesthetically contour the given region. The harvested fat is then washed and separated from fluid of the liposuction. This concentrates the volume of fat to be transferred.
The patient is then repositioned for the fat transfer. Several small punctures are made in the gluteal region. The concentrated fat is then injected into the gluteal region in small aliquots until the desired shape and size is created. Band-aids are then applied. Patients are instructed not to sit or lay on the area for several days but they may shower and begin activities the next day. The result: an enhanced more shapely buttocks and a contoured smaller region that underwent liposuction.