How Does Weight Gain Affect The BBL And Liposuction?

Many patients ask me what will happen if they gain or lose weight after they have a Brazilian butt lift. This is a very popular question because patients want to make sure they’re results last a long time. They worry that if they put on a couple of pounds, they’ll gain the weight back on their liposuction or that if they lose weight, they’ll lose their butt.

Understanding the BBL

To understand how weight affects the BBL procedure, you have to understand the procedure itself. For a BBL, 360 lipo is done on the torso (the upper and lower abdomen, upper and lower back and the flanks) and then that fat is transferred to the buttocks. So, two independent things have happened here: 1) liposuction of the torso and 2) fat has been injected into the buttock. In short, one area had fat removed and the other had fat added. Therefore, the liposuction area will be affected by weight gain or weight loss in a different manner than the fat transfer area.

The Impact of Weight Gain on the BBL & Lipo

The areas that have undergone liposuction, because of the scarring that takes place in those areas, when patients try to gain weight, they don’t grow as much as other areas that have not undergone liposuction. On the other hand, the buttocks, which has received fat transfer, will often grow after a BBL procedure once the fat has vascularized, or blood vessels have grown into the fat cells. Meaning, the butt will often get bigger with weight gain. The same with weight loss, the buttock will get smaller. But, it’s not that the fat cells have died, they just have decreased in volume. So, for the buttock this is a reversible change. Once the blood vessels have grown into those fat cells, then the fat cells are getting normal signals from the body. If the body gains weight, the buttock increases in volume. If the body loses weight, the buttock loses volume. And that is the difference the effect of weight has on liposuction vs the fat transfer for a BBL.

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If you’d like a consult to see if you’re a good candidate for a BBl or lipo, contact us today!