A Brazilian butt lift (BBL) uses liposuction to take fat from other parts of your body, then injects it into your buttocks. A BBL in Mexico can be a reasonable plan when four things are settled before you pay a deposit: the fat goes only into the layer under the skin, never into the buttock muscle, with the injection checked on ultrasound; the liposuction and the injection are each done by a trained surgeon, not an assistant who isn’t a surgeon, on a day with a limited number of operations; the facility is licensed for surgery, with a hospital and an ambulance service arranged; and you suit the operation, with a surgeon who will manage your care afterward and a recovery plan that protects the new fat through the first weeks and the trip home.
Guidance on this operation from professional societies in the U.S., the UK and internationally means you can put the same questions to any surgeon in Tijuana or elsewhere in Mexico and compare the answers. Whether a BBL suits you is your surgeon’s decision, and your doctor at home can help you think the plan through.
At a glance
- Price
- A Tijuana range for a BBL on its own is in the price table
- The operation
- Liposuction, then the prepared fat injected into the buttocks; usually a couple of hours, with sedation or general anesthesia among the choices
- Where the fat goes
- Only in the layer under the skin, above the buttock muscle, with ultrasound used to check the cannula’s position
- Who does it
- The liposuction and the fat injection each by a trained surgeon, not an assistant who isn’t a surgeon; a limited number of operations that day
- Sitting afterward
- No prolonged sitting for about 2 weeks, or longer if your surgeon prefers; a cushion behind the thighs keeps pressure off the new fat
- Final shape
- About a year, says the American Society of Plastic Surgeons; up to 6 months, in British guidance from the National Health Service
Key takeaways
- Ask your surgeon to confirm in writing that fat goes only under the skin, never into the muscle, with ultrasound used during the injection.
- Confirm that the liposuction and the fat injection will each be done by a trained surgeon, not an assistant who isn’t a surgeon, and ask how many operations your surgeon has that day.
- Before you pay a deposit, look up the surgeon’s licenses and council certificate, and see the facility’s license and its hospital and ambulance arrangements.
- Get a quote that lists the liposuction areas, anesthesia, garments, a cushion, drain removal, checkups and the price of any second session.
- Plan your stay, rides and flight around keeping pressure off the new fat, and book the trip home only once your surgeon clears you.
In this guide
- What happens in a BBL, and why the depth of the fat matters
- What professional societies advise now
- Is a BBL right for you?
- Risks of a BBL, and what you can do about each
- Checking the surgeon and the facility
- How much does a BBL in Mexico cost?
- Recovery: sitting, garments and the first weeks
- How long to stay, flying home and crossing back
- Questions to ask your surgeon about a BBL
- Before you go: checklist
- Warning signs after a BBL
- Frequently asked questions
- Sources
What happens in a BBL, and why the depth of the fat matters
A BBL is buttock augmentation by fat grafting, which moves fat from one part of your body into the buttocks (American Society of Plastic Surgeons, ASPS, a U.S. professional society). It has three stages:
- Removing the fat. After injecting diluted local anesthetic to reduce bleeding, the surgeon works a thin hollow tube called a cannula through small cuts to loosen and suction out fat, and may remove up to three times as much as will be injected (ASPS). Donor areas may include the abdomen, flanks, back and thighs (British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons, BAAPS, a UK professional society).
- Preparing it. Special equipment separates the fat from blood and other fluids (England’s National Health Service, NHS).
- Injecting it. Through a special cannula, the surgeon adds the fat in small injections across the buttocks (ASPS).
Anesthesia choices include intravenous sedation and general anesthesia (ASPS). The operation usually lasts a couple of hours, and you may go home soon afterward or need to stay overnight (NHS).
Why the depth matters. The fascia, a sheet of tissue, covers the buttock muscles beneath the fat layer under the skin. The buttock’s large veins sit in its deeper layers, while the vessels in the fat under the skin are much smaller (BAAPS). Fat injected into the muscle can enter the bloodstream through an injured vein (2018 multi-society warning; BAAPS), and a piece of it can then block a blood vessel in the lungs (NHS). In every death known to the surgeons who wrote that 2018 warning, autopsy found fat in the buttock muscle, never only under the skin, and fat placed under the skin can’t migrate into the muscle (2018 multi-society warning). A cannula can easily enter the muscle by accident (2018 multi-society warning); ultrasound can confirm its position during the injection, which may help the surgeon avoid the muscle (BAAPS).
Not the same as fillers. A BBL uses your own fat. Filler or silicone injected to enlarge the buttocks is a different procedure, and our guide to Botox and fillers explains why to avoid it.
What professional societies advise now
Why it matters: the recommendations surgeons’ professional bodies have published on how to do a BBL give you points to compare any surgeon against, in Mexico or elsewhere.
The core rule is set out in a 2018 warning by a task force of five societies, including ASPS and the International Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ISAPS): fat goes only into the tissue under the skin, never into the muscle, and if the result you want might need more, staging it over more than one operation should be discussed (2018 multi-society warning). The task force built on earlier work by others, including the Aesthetic Surgery Education and Research Foundation (ASERF), whose own task force called the operation high risk in 2017 (2018 multi-society warning; Aesthetic Surgery Journal, 2020).
A 2022 joint statement, endorsed by ISAPS, ASPS, The Aesthetic Society, The Plastic Surgery Foundation and ASERF, adds positions you can turn into questions (ISAPS):
- Ultrasound. Imaging the injection in real time, as an aid to a qualified surgeon’s skill and judgment, is a common-sense step toward keeping the fat above the fascia.
- Who operates. Surgeons without the right training, and assistants who aren’t surgeons, shouldn’t perform the critical parts of the operation, which include both the fat injection and the liposuction. Some U.S. states have raised concerns about a high number of these operations per surgeon per day, the statement adds.
- Where. In an office-based setting, only surgeons with privileges for the operation at a licensed surgery center or hospital should perform it.
- Afterward. Your surgeon should manage your care after the operation and be available for complications, including if you traveled from another country.
In the UK, BAAPS advised its members in 2018 not to perform BBLs, and its 2022 review sets out how buttock fat grafting should be done instead: fat only under the skin; ultrasound to confirm the cannula’s position before injecting, with the images and video saved; no more than three such operations in a day; and a staged operation to consider if more volume is needed than the layer under the skin can take in one session (BAAPS).
For a sense of scale, reported deaths showed a downward trend in surveys of plastic surgeons, from 1 in 3,448 operations in 2017 to 1 in 14,952 in 2019, while the share who said they injected into deep muscle fell from 13.1% to 0.8% (Aesthetic Surgery Journal, 2020). The 2017 figure was later questioned: an analysis cited in the UK review suggests it should have been nearer 1 in 13,000 (BAAPS). These are averages from surgeons’ own reports, not a prediction for you. On the most recent studies, the risk of death when fat goes only under the skin appears similar to a tummy tuck’s, in the UK review’s assessment (BAAPS). The 2022 joint statement still describes the operation as carrying significant risk compared with other elective cosmetic surgery (ISAPS).
How to check: ask the surgeon to describe their technique in their own words before you mention any of this, then compare the answer with the points above. Get the agreed technique written into your consent form, which UK guidance says should be completed before the day of surgery (BAAPS).
Is a BBL right for you?
Why it matters: a BBL can only move fat you already have, and your weight, health and smoking affect both the result and how you heal.
Whether fat grafting suits you depends partly on how much fat liposuction can remove and on your skin’s quality and elasticity (ASPS); limits on donor fat, or loose skin, belong in the discussion before you consent (BAAPS).
| If this applies to you | What the sources say | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Your weight is changing | The transferred fat can grow or shrink with your weight (ASPS), and liposuction isn’t a substitute for diet and exercise (MedlinePlus) | Book once your weight is steady |
| You smoke | Smokers get more infections after surgery (CDC), and smoking raises the risk of blood clots (MedlinePlus); UK guidance is no smoking for 4 weeks before and after (BAAPS) | Stop, on your surgeon’s timing |
| You have diabetes, high blood pressure, heart or lung problems, anemia or a clotting disorder | The first four should be checked and under control before liposuction (MedlinePlus); UK guidance treats unstable or untreated conditions, including anemia and clotting disorders, as reasons not to go ahead or to go ahead only with extreme caution (BAAPS) | See the doctor who treats the condition before you book |
| You’re pregnant, or could be | In UK guidance, pregnancy rules the operation out (BAAPS) | Tell your surgeon, and wait |
| You take medicines or supplements | Some interact with lidocaine, a numbing drug, or epinephrine, which narrows blood vessels; both are in the fluid commonly injected before liposuction (BAAPS; MedlinePlus) | List everything you take, and ask what to stop and when |
| You have a mental health condition, such as body dysmorphic disorder | In UK guidance, mental health problems such as body dysmorphic disorder, and unrealistic expectations, are also reasons not to go ahead or to go ahead only with extreme caution (BAAPS) | Talk it over with your doctor at home first |
How to check: see your doctor at home well before the trip, with a list of your conditions, medicines and past operations. Ask the surgeon how much fat they expect to take and from where, whether your goal is realistic in one operation, and whether an alternative, such as liposuction of the lower back alone or buttock implants, might suit you (BAAPS).
Risks of a BBL, and what you can do about each
Why it matters: each risk below is paired with a step you can take, and your surgeon should explain how likely it is and how it would be treated (NHS).
Liposuction carries its own risks, such as bleeding, fluid problems and reactions to lidocaine (MedlinePlus). The sources tie these risks to a BBL:
| Risk | What it is | What you can do |
|---|---|---|
| Fat in the bloodstream | Globules of fat that block blood flow, called a fat embolism (MedlinePlus). When large clumps of fat block the lungs’ circulation, signs usually appear during the operation or within a few hours; with tiny droplets, they can start 24 hours afterward (BAAPS) | Choose a surgeon whose technique follows the guidance above, stay near the facility in the first days and learn the warning signs |
| Infection | A risk of any operation; a BBL adds cellulitis, a serious skin infection (NHS). Dead fat cells are much more likely to get infected, plastic surgeon Darren Smith says in an ASPS article (ASPS) | Stop smoking, keep visitors’ hands off your wounds and dressings, and clean your hands before and after wound care (CDC) |
| Fluid or blood under the skin | A seroma, a pocket of fluid, is the most common minor complication in studies the UK review cites; it usually forms where fat was removed, often the lower back, and some report that drains may help reduce it (BAAPS). Blood can collect as a hematoma (NHS) | Ask whether you’ll have drains, and who would drain a collection once you’re home |
| Dead fat and skin damage | Grafted fat can die (fat necrosis) or form oil cysts; large lumps of fat in one spot make both likelier and, in extreme cases, leave skin detached over dead tissue (BAAPS) | Ask how the fat will be spread, and keep pressure off it, since prolonged sitting damages it (ASPS) |
| An uneven result | Uneven fat removal, dents and loose skin are liposuction risks (MedlinePlus), and a BBL can leave lumpy scars (NHS) | Agree which areas will be treated, and see results on bodies like yours |
| Blood clots | After surgery, a clot can form in a deep vein and travel to the lungs (a pulmonary embolus) (MedlinePlus) | Ask for a plan to prevent clots; in UK practice it can include stockings, calf compression or a blood thinner, with fluids and early walking (BAAPS). See lowering your clot risk on the way home |
| Fat absorbed over time | On average, patients keep 60% to 80% of the transferred fat, in ASPS’s figures (ASPS). About half doesn’t survive, in UK guidance from the NHS (NHS) | Ask whether you might need a second session, and its cost |
How to check: ask how many of the surgeon’s BBLs have had complications, how they handle a seroma or an infection, and who would treat you after you’re home (NHS); share the answers with your doctor at home.
Checking the surgeon and the facility
Why it matters: the guidance covers who performs each step, and where, as well as the technique itself.
The three credentials a plastic surgeon should hold, among them a current certificate from Mexico’s plastic surgery council, and where to look them up are in checking a plastic surgeon’s credentials in Mexico. Checked credentials are where to start; for a BBL, add who will do the liposuction and the injection, how many operations are booked that day and where the surgeon holds hospital privileges, as set out in what societies advise.
In December 2024, COFEPRIS, Mexico’s Federal Commission for Protection against Health Risks, updated its alta directiva, a list of the priority requirements that facilities performing cosmetic surgery must meet: health licenses for surgical procedures and a hospital pharmacy; a license for blood services or, where that applies, an agreement for them; an agreement with a hospital able to handle more complex care; and ambulance service of their own or under contract, among other points (COFEPRIS, in Spanish). Not every clinic offering a BBL may meet each point, so ask to see them.
Those arrangements matter on the day itself. Of 13 deaths caused by buttock fat injection that members of the Mexican Association of Reconstructive, Plastic and Aesthetic Surgery reported for a 2015 study, 8 happened during the injection and the other 5 within the first 24 hours (Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, 2015). Injecting fat into the buttock muscle is linked to deaths from fat embolism, through damage to the buttock’s blood vessels, the authors concluded from those deaths and 9 in Colombia (Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, 2015).
Care afterward matters too: in the UK review’s assessment, complications are better controlled in strictly regulated settings, and patients who have surgery abroad or in unregulated facilities are at higher risk of serious complications and of inadequate care afterward (BAAPS).
How to check:
- Look up the surgeon’s licenses and council certificate, and the anesthesiologist’s licenses, with checking a doctor’s license in Mexico.
- See the facility’s health license with checking a clinic’s health license, and ask to see its hospital agreement and ambulance arrangement.
- Ask at which hospital the surgeon holds privileges, and how you would get there from the operating room.
- Ask whether the surgeon will see you at checkups and for any complication, or someone else will.
How much does a BBL in Mexico cost?
Why it matters: BBL costs may include anesthesia, the facility, garments and a special pillow as well as the surgeon’s fee, so compare the lines of a quote, not just its total (ASPS).
| Procedure | Tijuana (USD) | United States (USD) |
|---|---|---|
| BBL on its own | $4,000 – $8,000 | $7,264 average surgeon’s fee, not a range (see note) |
Uriym’s indicative ranges from its treatment costs page, reviewed September 7, 2026. They are not quotes and cover the listed treatment only, without taxes, travel or third-party charges; the Tijuana range is for a BBL alone. The U.S. figure is not one of those ranges: it is the average cost of a BBL in the latest statistics of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS), shown as the average surgeon’s fee because it excludes anesthesia, operating facilities and other related expenses, so it isn’t comparable to a total price. ASPS gives no year for it.
Adding a tummy tuck, breast augmentation or another operation changes the price and the plan; combining procedures sets out what to weigh. Most health insurance plans leave out buttock enhancement and the treatment of its complications (ASPS), so read your own policy before you book.
How to check: start from the general lines in what a plastic surgery quote should include, from the surgeon’s fee and anesthesia to complications, then add these for a BBL:
| Line | What to ask |
|---|---|
| Liposuction | Which areas are included, and does adding one change the price? |
| The fat injection | Is ultrasound used, and are the images part of my records? |
| Garments and cushion | How many garments, and is a special pillow or cushion for sitting included (ASPS)? |
| Drains and checkups | Is drain removal included, and how many checkups? |
| A second session | What would a later session to add volume cost? |
Recovery: sitting, garments and the first weeks
Why it matters: transferred fat is fragile while it finds a blood supply in its new place, so how you sit and sleep in the first weeks protects the result (ASPS).
You’re monitored in a recovery area after the operation and may go home after a few hours, sometimes with small tubes called drains under the skin to remove blood or fluid (ASPS). Significant bruising and swelling and some temporary numbness are common, and you may want a couple of weeks off work (NHS). After liposuction, bruising and swelling usually fade within 3 weeks, though some swelling can last for months (MedlinePlus).
| Topic | What the sources say |
|---|---|
| Sitting | Avoid prolonged sitting for about 2 weeks, longer if your surgeon prefers, because it damages the fat; when you must sit, a pillow or cushion behind your thighs raises your buttocks to keep pressure off the fat grafts (ASPS). Keeping pressure off the grafted area for the first 2 weeks is part of UK guidance too (BAAPS) |
| Sleeping | Face down or on your side (ASPS) |
| Garment | Worn around the clock, for as long as your surgeon says (ASPS); after liposuction, it keeps pressure on the treated areas to stop bleeding and help hold the shape (MedlinePlus) |
| Walking and exercise | Walk as soon as you can, to help prevent clots in your legs (MedlinePlus); exercise can generally resume after 6 to 8 weeks (ASPS) |
| The final shape | About a year, once the fat has taken, in ASPS’s account (ASPS). Up to 6 months for a fat transfer to take full effect, as some of the fat may be reabsorbed, in UK guidance from the NHS (NHS) |
Garments and lymphatic drainage massage are where the sources part ways. Your surgeon may encourage lymphatic massage from a licensed massage therapist (ASPS). Evidence on the safety and benefit of both the garments and the massage is lacking, in the UK review’s assessment (BAAPS). Follow your own surgeon’s instructions.
Where you recover. If you’ll stay in a recovery house, ask who will actually look after you: a nurse can be its face without a medical professional being the one who cares for you, and on-site staff should include a licensed medical professional, such as a registered nurse, according to an ASPS staff article, which suggests asking your surgeon whether they work with a place that has certified staff (ASPS).
How to check: ask your surgeon for written instructions: how long to avoid sitting and which cushion to use, which garment and for how long, whether to have massage, when drains and stitches come out, and when you can drive, work and exercise.
How long to stay, flying home and crossing back
Why it matters: problems are easier to deal with while you’re near your surgeon (ASPS), and the journey home means hours of sitting that a new BBL has to be planned around.
We found no official guideline that sets a number of days to stay in Mexico after a BBL. Plan around these:
- The first days. Staying in the area at least 4 to 5 days, or as long as possible, is the best way to reduce complications, concludes an ASPS staff article on traveling after a BBL, not a formal ASPS guideline. For one surgeon it quotes, Darrick Antell, 5 days is the number, because an infection typically can show in 3 to 5 days (ASPS).
- Stitches and drains. Stitches after liposuction come out in 5 to 10 days (MedlinePlus), and drains are temporary (ASPS); ask which removals must happen in Mexico.
- Flying. We found no published flying wait specific to a BBL; for liposuction, see how soon you can fly after surgery. Sitting on the grafts for a couple of hours on a plane risks killing fat cells, plastic surgeon Darren Smith warns in the same article, and passengers have to sit down while the seat belt sign is on, flight attendant Teena Ray notes. Drink enough, and walk for at least 5 to 10 minutes for every hour you sit, Smith advises (ASPS).
- By road and at the border. A long car ride is a relatively weak risk factor for clots, and moving your legs often helps prevent them (MedlinePlus). Crossing on foot can mean a line and a walk to your ride; crossing back after a procedure covers how to plan it.
- Records. Ask for copies showing how much fat was removed and transferred, where it went, whether ultrasound was used, any drains and garments, the steps taken against clots and a discharge summary, the details UK guidance recommends recording (BAAPS), and give them to your doctor at home.
How to check: before you buy tickets, ask your surgeon for the date of each visit you need in Mexico, the earliest day you can travel, how to sit on the way and whether to wear compression stockings, then book travel you can change.
Questions to ask your surgeon about a BBL
- Will you place the fat only under my skin, above the fascia, and use ultrasound throughout the injection?
- Will the ultrasound images be saved, and can I have them with my records?
- Will you personally do both the liposuction and the fat injection?
- How many operations do you have on the day of mine, and where does mine fall?
- At which hospital do you hold privileges, and how would I get there if I needed to?
- May I see the facility’s health license, its hospital agreement and its ambulance arrangement?
- How much fat will you take, and from where? Is the shape I want realistic in one session?
- Which anesthesia will I have, and who will give it?
- What are your instructions for sitting, sleeping, garments and massage, and for how long?
- If I have a problem after I’m home, how will you be involved, and whom do I contact?
Before you go: checklist
- Weight steady, and smoking stopped on your surgeon’s timing
- Health conditions, medicines and past operations reviewed with your doctor at home
- Surgeon’s and anesthesiologist’s licenses, and the council certificate, looked up
- Technique agreed in writing: fat only under the skin, with ultrasound and saved images
- Who does each step, and how many operations that day, confirmed
- Facility’s health license, hospital agreement and ambulance arrangement seen
- Itemized quote, including garments, cushion, drains, checkups and any second session
- Cushion, garments and a place to stay where you can sleep face down or on your side
- Someone to drive you after the operation, and help for the first days
- Flexible travel booked around your surgeon’s go-ahead
- Records requested, and the warning signs read
Warning signs after a BBL
In an emergency, call 911, which works in the U.S. and Mexico, then tell your surgeon.
| What you notice | What to do |
|---|---|
| Sudden shortness of breath, chest pain that often gets worse with deep breathing, a fast heartbeat, a sudden cough possibly bringing up blood, or dizziness or fainting | These may be signs of a pulmonary embolus, a blockage of an artery in the lungs, most often by a blood clot and less often by fat droplets: go to the emergency room or call 911 (MedlinePlus). Shortness of breath, chest pain or an unusual heartbeat after buttock surgery calls for medical attention immediately (ASPS) |
| Redness, pain or swelling around a wound, especially if it keeps increasing; cloudy fluid draining from it; or a fever | These can be signs of an infection where you had surgery: call your surgeon or another healthcare provider immediately (CDC), and go back to the surgeon who treated you (NHS) |
| Pain, swelling or tenderness in a leg | This can be a clot in a leg; warning signs of a blood clot explains what to do |
Signs of fat in the lungs can appear during the operation, within a few hours or starting 24 hours afterward (BAAPS), so keep your surgeon’s direct number with you and stay close to care in the first days. Once you’re home, tell any doctor who treats you that you had a BBL, where and when, and bring your records.
Frequently asked questions
How much does a BBL cost in Mexico?
Uriym’s indicative range for a BBL on its own in Tijuana is $4,000 to $8,000. These ranges are indicative, not quotes. The U.S. figure from the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, an average of $7,264, is the surgeon’s fee alone, without anesthesia, the operating facility or other expenses, so it isn’t comparable to a total price (ASPS). Your surgeon’s office determines your final fee (ASPS), so ask each surgeon to itemize the liposuction areas, anesthesia, garments, cushion, drains, checkups and any second session; see what a BBL in Mexico costs.
Is it safe to get a BBL in Mexico?
It depends on things you can check before you pay a deposit. Look for fat placed only under the skin, ultrasound during the injection, the liposuction and the injection each done by a trained surgeon rather than an assistant who isn’t a surgeon, and a limited number of operations that day (ISAPS; BAAPS). Choose a facility licensed for surgery with hospital and ambulance arrangements, and agree how your surgeon will handle a complication once you’re home. Checking the surgeon and the facility covers each step, and our guide to whether surgery in Mexico is safe adds the State Department’s advisory for Baja California and your options if a complication arises.
How long do you have to stay in Mexico after a BBL?
Your surgeon decides; we found no official guideline that sets a number of days. Staying in the area at least 4 to 5 days, or as long as possible, is the best way to reduce complications, an ASPS staff article on traveling after a BBL concludes; one surgeon it quotes, Darrick Antell, settles on 5 days, because an infection typically can show in 3 to 5 days (ASPS). Build the stay around your checkups, drain and stitch removal and your surgeon’s go-ahead to travel, and book flights you can change; see how long to stay.
When can you sit after a BBL?
Avoid prolonged sitting for about 2 weeks, or longer if your surgeon prefers, because sitting on the new fat damages it. When you do have to sit, a pillow or cushion behind your thighs raises your buttocks to keep pressure off the grafts, and you’re encouraged to sleep face down or on your side (ASPS). Ask your surgeon for their own timeline, and plan the trip home around it; see recovery.
When can you fly after a BBL?
When your surgeon clears you. We found no published wait specific to a BBL; for liposuction, which is part of the operation, see how soon you can fly after surgery. Plan how you’ll sit: passengers have to stay seated while the seat belt sign is on, flight attendant Teena Ray notes in an ASPS article on traveling after a BBL, and plastic surgeon Darren Smith advises drinking enough and walking for at least 5 to 10 minutes for every hour of sitting (ASPS).
Do you need lymphatic massage after a BBL?
Ask your surgeon, because sources differ. Lymphatic massage from a licensed massage therapist is something your surgeon may encourage, according to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS). Evidence on the safety and benefit of lymphatic drainage massage, and of compression garments, is lacking, with no agreement on how long to use either, according to the UK’s British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons (BAAPS). If you have massage, ask who will do it and what training they have.
Will some of the fat go away after a BBL?
Yes, some of it. Part of the volume fades as your body absorbs fat, and sources differ on how much; the figures are in risks and what you can do. The result can also change with your weight, because the transferred fat can grow or shrink like other body fat (ASPS). If you want more volume than one session allows, ask your surgeon about a staged second operation rather than overfilling (BAAPS).
What is an ultrasound-guided BBL?
It’s a BBL in which the surgeon uses ultrasound imaging during the fat injection to confirm that the cannula, the thin tube that delivers the fat, is in the layer under the skin and not in the muscle. Saving the images and video is part of UK guidance (BAAPS), and the 2022 multi-society statement calls real-time imaging, alongside a qualified surgeon’s skill and judgment, a common-sense step toward keeping the surgeon above the fascia covering the buttock muscles (ISAPS). Ask whether ultrasound is used throughout the injection, and for copies of the images.
Sources
- What are the steps of a buttock enhancement procedure? American Society of Plastic Surgeons
- What should I expect during my buttock enhancement recovery? American Society of Plastic Surgeons
- How much does buttock enhancement cost? American Society of Plastic Surgeons
- Boarding groups: Added complications from traveling after a Brazilian butt lift (June 9, 2023) American Society of Plastic Surgeons
- Aftershocks: Beware of unlicensed “healing houses” (April 21, 2023) American Society of Plastic Surgeons
- Urgent Warning to Surgeons Performing Fat Grafting to the Buttocks (Brazilian Butt Lift or “BBL”) (undated PDF, issued in 2018) Multi-Society Task Force for Safety in Gluteal Fat Grafting (ASAPS, ASPS, ISAPS, IFATS, ISPRES), published by the American Society of Plastic Surgeons
- Statement on Patient Safety During Gluteal Fat Grafting (October 26, 2022) International Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ISAPS), with ASPS, The Plastic Surgery Foundation, The Aesthetic Society and ASERF
- Gluteal Fat Grafting Safety Review and Recommendations (September 30, 2022) British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons (BAAPS), UK professional society
- Improvement in Brazilian Butt Lift (BBL) Safety With the Current Recommendations from ASERF, ASAPS, and ISAPS (2020; abstract on PubMed) Aesthetic Surgery Journal
- Deaths Caused by Gluteal Lipoinjection: What Are We Doing Wrong? (2015; abstract on PubMed) Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery
- Liposuction MedlinePlus, U.S. National Library of Medicine
- Pulmonary embolus MedlinePlus, U.S. National Library of Medicine
- Surgical fat transfer NHS
- Surgical Site Infection Basics U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
- Cofepris actualiza Alta directiva para establecimientos donde se practican procedimientos quirúrgicos estéticos (Comunicado 154/2024, in Spanish) COFEPRIS
About this guide
The Uriym editorial team researched this guide from the 15 sources above, drafted it with AI assistance, and checked it claim by claim against those sources before publishing, last on . Our editorial standards explain how we choose sources, handle prices and make corrections.
Uriym is a healthcare navigation platform, not a medical provider. Its founder, Adriana Mendez, grew up in a family that traveled to Mexico for care and has done it herself for the past ten years. How Uriym works
This is general information, not medical, legal or financial advice: your treating provider decides what care is right for you. Rules, prices and advisories change, so check the official page before you act. Found something wrong or out of date? Email support@uriym.com.
