Where Does The Fat Come From For Buttock Augmentations By Fat Injection?

Q: I was interested in the buttock augmentation with fat injections. I was wondering what parts of the body the fat is taken from, whether I would be a good candidate for the procedure, and the time it will take to heal.

A: The use of injectable fat grafting for buttock augmentation, also known as the Brazilian Butt Lift, has become popular as an alternative to the use of buttock implants. The success of the procedure is based on three factors; having enough fat on the body from which to harvest from, having enough buttock subcutaneous tissue to inject into and how well does the inject fat survive.

Patient selection is the key element in the first two factors and can be determined before surgery is ever performed. The best donor site to get then most fat is usually the abdomen, flanks, and thighs. In general, a harvest volume of at least 1,500 ccs is needed to end up with a processed and concentrated volume of around 800ccs. This allows 350cc to 400cc to be injected into each buttock. Less volumes than this will usually not make the procedure worthwhile. The patient also gets the benefit of contouring from the harvest site as well. Whether one has enough fat to harvest is very easy to determine. Whether one has enough buttock subcutaneous tissue into which to inject is a bit more subjective. Buttock far augmentations work better in those that already have ‘some butt’ present. Completely flat and non-existant buttocks will have a much better result with an implant.

 Recovery from buttock augmentation with fat injection is related to the donor site and not the buttocks. Overall recovery is just a few short weeks whicih is far less than when buttock implants are used.

Dr. Barry Eppley

Indianapolis Indiana