US Issues Alert Agains Brazilian Butt Lift

08/09/2018 - 12h36

A group of American plastic surgery associations released an alert on Monday (6) warning against the risks of the so-called "Brazilian buff lift", a popular procedure that enlarges the patient's buttocks using her own body fat.

In this procedure, the patient's fat is first sucked from another part of her body by liposuction, and then injected in her buttocks - it is also possible to enlarge breasts using this method.

According to doctors, this is the most dangerous plastic surgery procedure of all: one out of 3,000 patients who undergo the surgery dies. Pulmonary embolism is the most common cause of death from Brazilian butt lifts.
Tummy tucks come in second in this ranking, killing in average one in 13,000 patients who undergo the procedure, according to the plastic surgery associations.

The demand for Brazilian butt lifts doubled in American in the past four years, according to Peter Rubin, professor at the University of Pittsburgh and treasurer of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS). Since 2000, the demand increased 254%.

In 2017, more 20,000 surgeries were done, mostly in Florida and California. Each procedure can cost more than US$ 5,000, according to ASPS.

"This rise in demand led to an increase of non specialized doctors performing the procedure," said Rubin. He also highlights that this is a challenging type of surgery and even good surgeons might not be prepared to perform it.

Translated by NATASHA MADOV

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