Introduction
Buttock augmentation with fat is one of the most popular plastic surgery procedures in the US. This procedure is used to add projection and shape to the buttocks. Also known as the Brazilian butt lift, fat transfer uses the excess fat available in your body to enhance your booty. This cosmetic procedure is suitable for you if you want to improve your femininity by undergoing a low-risk procedure and getting natural results.
Since the surgery uses your body fat to enhance your buttocks, many patients wonder how long the fat injected into the butt will survive and what they can do to prolong the fat survival rate. To continue enjoying the benefits of fat transfer surgery, the fat needs to survive in the injected area. However, whether the fat will survive depends on many factors.
Fat survival rate after fat transfer
It is vital for more than 90 percent of the fat to survive so that the results can be retained. However, in many cases, the fat decreases by 20-30 percent. Your body has a natural tendency to reabsorb about 20-25 percent of the fat injected into the buttocks. It is for this reason that most plastic surgeons take this into account and inject extra fat into the buttocks. The extra volume of fat makes up for the percentage of fat loss after the procedure.
If your plastic surgeon is talented, experienced, and board-certified, more than 80 percent of the fat transferred to the booty will survive after the procedure. Keep in mind that the results depend primarily on how the surgery is performed and how careful the patient is after the procedure.
Buttock augmentation with fat is recommended for patients who want to make their buttocks shapelier and add mild projection to their backside. To qualify, you need to have excess fat in your body that can be removed and injected into your booty. It is not for you if you want to get large buttocks. For large buttocks, you should consider getting implants.
Fat grafting surgery is a significant procedure. During the operation, the plastic surgeon will make small incisions on fat donor sites like the abdomen, sides, flanks, etc. In the next step, the doctor will use liposuction to remove the surplus fat from those areas. He will insert a hollow tube called a cannula in the fat donor area through the incisions and give the cannula a back and forth motion. This will help dislodge the fat from the nearby areas. The surgeon will then remove the fat will a suction pump. The same process will be repeated on all fat donor sites, and the incisions will be sutured and closed.
The fat removal process is one of the leading factors that determine the fat survival rate. If the fat cells are damaged or killed during this process, the fat survival rate will be low and the patient will not get the desired improvements. Therefore, it is critical for the surgeon to remove the fat from the donor sites very carefully.
The next major step that ensures that the fat survives is fat processing. The fat removed from the body has to be processed and purified before injecting it into the booty. The plastic surgeon will do this by spinning the fat in a centrifuge at high speed. He will remove the dead, damaged, and injured fat cells during this step and pick only the living and healthy fat cells for transfer to the buttocks. If this step is not implemented correctly, the fat will not survive after being injected into the booty.
The last major step of the procedure is fat grafting, which is the actual injecting of the fat cells into the buttocks. This step is also crucial and determines the fat survival rate. If not injected properly, the fat cells may die, or your body may reabsorb the fat. This will affect the results. Make sure to select a highly experienced and board-certified plastic surgeon to do butt augmentation with fat.
How to ensure maximum fat survival
There are many things that the patient can do to ensure that most of the fat injected into the buttocks survive after the procedure. Here are some essential tips:
– Choose your plastic surgeon carefully
The first and most important thing that you can do to maximize fat survival after butt augmentation surgery is to choose your plastic surgeon carefully. The surgeon should be highly qualified and experienced so that he can extract, purify, and inject the fat properly. Be sure that your plastic surgeon is board-certified.
– Wear the compression garments
The patient is required to wear compression garments for many weeks after the surgery. Compression garments enhance the recovery process and prevent pressure to the fat grafts until they gain enough strength and are vascularized. The compression garments are mainly designed for this matter. Failure to wear the compression garments can lead to the death of the fat cells, which will in turn reverse the results.
– Eat healthy foods
Once injected to the buttocks, the fat cells will behave in the same way as the fat in other areas of the body. What this means is that you should eat well after the surgery and feed the fat cells. When you do so, the fat cells will get enough calories to nurture and expand. Make sure that your diet is full of nutrients necessary for the survival of the fat cells, at least during the first six weeks after the procedure. Eat foods like almonds, butter, avocados, and coconut oil because these foods help the fat in your body.
– Don’t sleep on your back and avoid sitting for two to three weeks after the surgery
The fat cells injected into your booty are delicate for two to three weeks after the surgery. Sleeping on your back or sitting during this time can damage or kill the fat grafts, which will lead to a reversal of the achieved outcomes. You should instead sleep on your tummy and sides during this time. This may be overwhelming and tiresome for many patients, but never forget that this is a tradeoff for the aesthetic improvements that you will achieve. After three weeks, you can gradually resume sleeping on your back and sitting. However, do not apply prolonged pressure to your backside. While sitting, keep a soft cushion under your buttocks and a rolled towel under your hamstring.
– Avoid driving for three weeks after the surgery
Any pressure applied to the buttocks can kill the fat grafts during the first few weeks after the surgery. Driving before the passage of three weeks can apply pressure and force to the buttocks, which can damage or kill the fat cells. Also, driving involves leg movements and pumps, which can also affect fat cells. The fat needs at least two weeks to be vascularized. You should wait for another week to resume driving. While driving, make sure to place a soft cushion under your buttocks.
– Avoid smoking
Smoking can affect the healing process and vascularization of the fat cells. When you smoke during the recovery period, it will prevent oxygen and nutrient flow to the fat grafts. As such, the fat cells will become weaker and then liquefy. If you are a smoker, you should stop smoking at least two weeks before the surgery and avoid smoking for six weeks after the procedure.
– Avoid strenuous activities for six weeks after the surgery
The patient is required to take sufficient rest during the recovery period. While you may be able to resume work two or three weeks after the procedure, strenuous activities must be avoided for six weeks. Strenuous activities include exercises, stretching, bending, weight lifting, jogging, etc. These activities can compromise the results by affecting fat cells.
– Avoid massive weight loss
Massive weight loss any time after the surgery is the leading factor that can reverse the effects of butt augmentation surgery. Weight loss affects the fat in the buttocks in the same way as it does the fat in other areas of the body. Massive weight loss can liquefy the fat cells and affect the fat survival rate. Patients must avoid enormous weight loss and instead keep their weight stable after the surgery so that the results can be retained.
Conclusion
One of the main problems associated with butt augmentation via fat transfer has to do with fat survival after the procedure. Whether the fat injected into the buttocks will survive depends on many factors that I have explained above. The good news is that you can do many things to ensure that the maximum amount of fat survives after the procedure.