Brazilian Butt Lift IN LA JOLLA AND NEWPORT BEACH | TIM SAYED MD
The Brazilian Butt Lift is the popular name for gluteal augmentation that uses the patient’s own body fat.
The procedure has become a social media sensation in the last few years. Tim Sayed, MD, MBA, FACSÂ is in a remarkably unique position to be able to offer his techniques to San Diego. Gluteal enhancement can be performed with implants in many patients, but Dr. Sayed has become fond of the advantages of fat transfer to shape the buttock for multiple reasons:
- The enhancement is all-natural — treatment uses the patient’s own tissues and has the potential for a permanent result
- The procedure includes liposuction of multiple areas that also benefit from cosmetic improvement
- 360 degree shaping improvement of the whole body can be accomplished with fat transfer but not with implants
- The procedure can be repeated in some patients if touch-ups are needed
- No foreign body implant is required
Brazilian Butt Lift 101
Fat grafting butt agumentation a comprehensive body contouring procedure that reshapes the buttocks, hips, back, abdomen, waistline, and love handles. The goal is to achieve a relatively narrow waist, a scooped out lower back with a nice takeoff of the upper gluteal shelf, and an upside-down-heart-shaped profile that has a pleasing roundness. A careful assessment of the shape of the region before surgery is critical.
The Brazilian Butt Lift starts with harvesting sufficient fat from the source locations, which usually include the upper, lower, and central abdomen, the flanks (love handle areas), the lower back and upper waist, and the bra lines. The fat is harvested using standard liposuction techniques with tumescent fluid placed in the treatment areas to minimize postoperative pain, bruising, and bleeding. The fat is kept sterile, washed with antibiotics, and concentrated into syringes for injection. A safe injection technique is critical to minimize the risk of poor fat graft take, lumpiness, or other complications.
The real artistry involved in the Brazilian butt lift is the shaping and injecting processes. A pleasing feminine backside should have a gentle curvature that indents somewhat in the lower back before taking off with a shelf at the upper buttock edge, then rounding out toward the thigh.
Dr. Sayed can enhance certain portions and sculpt the donor sites to give a comprehensive total body makeover that can radically change a patient’s physique. New clothes, bathing suits, and other social benefits might follow!
How can I prepare for my Brazilian Butt Lift surgery in San Diego?
- Look at before and after photos and understand what kinds of techniques you are interested in
- Don’t smoke or take nicotine in any form for at least 3 weeks and ideally longer before (and after) surgery
- Stay well rested and well hydrated. Eat a nutritious diet balanced with plenty of protein
- If your diet is lacking in vitamins, take vitamin C and zinc supplementation, but ask Dr. Sayed about other supplements. We have a list of ingredients we ask you to avoid in the immediate preop phase to optimize healing and minimize bleeding risk
- Designate a caretaker who can help you through the first 7-14 days after your Brazilian Butt Lift
- Maintain your weight at a target which we can set together based on your body mass index (BMI) – ideally, we’d like to help you get it below 30, but there is a reasonable range depending on other factors. In some cases, we may ask you to put on some extra weight preop to have more fat to use
How do I know if I am a candidate?
Some of our selection criteria to include you as a Brazilian Butt Lift candidate include:
- A flat buttock, saggy tissues, inadequate fullness in the buttocks, a poorly defined midsection, dissatisfaction with body shape, and a desire for enhancement
- Enough fat in the donor site areas to be able to harvest enough to achieve the desired outcome – some patients can only obtain a modest augmentation due to their minimal body fat
- General good health, meaning you do not have major uncorrected cardiovascular, respiratory, kidney or other major organ conditions, and would be able to be medically cleared for general anesthesia by an internal medicine physician if you are over a certain age
- Not pregnant or immediately planning to become pregnant
- Nonsmoker or willing to commit to NO NICOTINE IN ANY FORM for at least 3 weeks preop and for the duration of your recovery
- A body mass index below 35 and ideally below 30 for optimal results, with rare exceptions
- Available support system of friends, family, caregivers or others who can help you keep your appointments, complete your preop and postop tasks, and emotionally bolster you through this exciting journey
- Reasonable expectations of how much buttock enhancement is possible with specific Brazilian Butt Lift techniques
Meet Tim Sayed, MD, MBA, FACS
Double board-certified plastic surgeon | Breast Explant Expert
Dr. Tim Sayed and his staff believe that the commitment to undergoing cosmetic treatment is a momentous decision that needs to be approached with kindness and compassion, and this starts by offering a comprehensive, detailed consultation process with an emphasis on educating the patient about plastic surgery procedures and options. Dr. Sayed uses sophisticated drawing tools, the patient’s images, and anatomic education tools that he helped develop himself to inform the patient of every aspect of the procedure. Dr Sayed’s signature procedures include breast implant removal, breast lift and tummy tuck.
How long do the results usually last?
It is well known that some of the fat that is transferred in a fat grafting procedure may not survive long-term. For this reason, most plastic surgeons “over-correct” somewhat by placing more fat by weight than is desired for long-term survival to account for some expected “resorption” of the fat. The fat that does survive is as permanent a part of the patient’s body as fat in other areas. One of the things we do to try to promote long-standing results is to harvest fat from areas from which the patient finds it hard to lose weight — this is because the fat in some of these areas is rich in molecules that resist fat breakdown. It is believed that when fat is transferred from such areas, the fat cells retain some of this resistance to breakdown when placed in their new position. If the patient loses a tremendous amount of weight over time, a proportional amount of weight may come off the gluteal region, just like other fat in the body.
Double board-certified plastic surgeon, Tim Sayed, MD, MBA,FACS, has helped countless women achieve the results and confidence they desire. Dr. Sayed and his expert team are committed to providing the best results and experience possible. To start your brazilian butt lift journey in Newport Beach or San Diego, CA please call us at (858) 247-2933 or complete our online form.Â
Brazilian Butt Lift in Newport Beach FAQs
Most “BBL” procedures are three to four hours in duration. Dr. Sayed and his assistants in surgery will harvest fat as efficiently and comprehensively as possible to shape the donor sites and obtain as much usable fat that is safe to harvest and transfer. Keeping operative times down is important, and using highly trained assistants to help through the harvest portion is common. Dr. Sayed performs all the fat injections to try to ensure gluteal symmetry.
Most fat grafting butt augmentations are performed on an outpatient basis in an AAAASF-certified operating room, meaning the facility is up to very high standards of accreditation. Patients usually spend up to a couple hours in the postoperative suite before being discharged in the care of a companion, family member or friend. Dr. Sayed gives a 24 hour phone number to all patients so that they can reach him for urgent questions, and we also issue access to a patient engagement application that allows the patient or companion/caregiver to send SMS messages, photos, video and other content to our team in a secure, private digital format. This keeps us mutually informed on your recovery and allows us to update your instructions while requiring a respectful number of face-to-face visits in the office.
Early postop recovery findings can include abdominal pain, buttock pain, muscle cramping, mild nausea, back discomfort, bruising and swelling, numbness or diminished sensation in the skin, and some mental adjustment to the process of healing which most patients undergo after surgery. We try to have you keep off the gluteal areas by avoiding sitting for the first 2 weeks or so for the best outcome. Special pillows and seats can be purchased to help ease the recovery process so you can eat and reposition yourself in comfort while you heal. Most patients are advised to take up to 2 weeks out of social circulation and we’d prefer that you not drive yourself in the first 14 days or as long as you are taking any prescription pain medication. Most sutures are dissolvable, but there may be a few that need to be removed at around 14 days postop. You will probably have drains in place which are usually removed in the office at 7 to 10 days.
We ask that you abstain from exercise for 3 weeks and then return to light fitness routines after that. It is very important that you get up and walk even the first night following your procedure. You will be asked to wear a surgical garment for about 3 months to help reduce swelling. Dr. Sayed and his team provide close postop care in the office and with our remote engagement tools. You will be asked to take some supplement medications to aid in your recovery, which may include medications for pain, bruising, swelling, constipation, and dietary optimization.
Once they’re placed into the buttocks, the fat cells that are retained will continue to act like regular cells; however, the weight gain will be distributed all over the body. Regardless of the continued function of the fat cells, it’s important to maintain your results by maintaining a healthy weight.
The results can be reversed by liposuction to some extent. Not all fat that is transferred can be removed at a later date, as a portion of the fat is put into the superficial area of the muscle.
It’s fairly common occurrence with all fat transfer procedures: once the fat has been donated, a small portion of the donated fat becomes reabsorbed into the body. The fat cells that do stay- or “take”- are the ones that establish themselves in the buttocks. These viable fat cells essentially succeed in establishing a blood supply as well as an extracellular matrix that’s strong enough to withstand stress. All of this can happen in around 3 weeks which is why it’s essential that you protect the fat grafts in the first few weeks of your grafting procedure.
The more we protect the new fat grafts—the better their chance to survive in the buttocks. It’s why we advise that you avoid sitting down or putting pressure on the buttocks for at least two weeks after treatment. In the meantime, it’s recommended that you find some special pillows or lie on your stomach for certain situations. Dr. Sayed’s office can recommend some medical pillows specifically designed for Brazilian butt lift patients.  If you need to use the bathroom, it’s highly recommended that you limit the amount of time you spend sitting on the toilet seat. We routinely put patients into compressive garments in order to minimize swelling of the liposuction areas and that may provide some protection to the fat grafts, especially if you are careful to avoid directly sitting on them for the first few weeks.
We don’t like to publish pricing as it is subject to market changes and dependent on the types of procedures you consider. Review our Pricing page to build a “wishlist” and get estimated pricing on a Brazilian butt lift or a combination of procedures. We also have a fee schedule available in the office after your consultation. Feel free to contact our San Diego office for a pre-consultation and we are happy to provide more information. The cost of your surgery will partly depend on where you have it and how much time we think it will take based on your body frame. One thing to keep in mind for patients considering combining BBL and tummy tuck: Dr. Sayed most likely will recommend that you stage these operations for your safety and to optimize the results, although in selected patients it may be reasonable to combine them.
