BBL & Gluteal Fat Grafting – BAAPS Update

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Gluteal fat grafting (GFG), more commonly known as a Brazilian butt lift or BBL, has recently been studied by the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons. After conducting a four-year analysis of outcomes data and a detailed assessment of new technologies, BAAPS has published new guidelines on superficial gluteal lipofilling (SGL) in the UK.

Click here to read the new 2022 BAAPS GFG Guidelines

BAAPS had previously advised its members against performing a Brazilian butt lift, also known as a BBL. This was due to suggesting there was a higher death rate associated with the procedure compared with other types of fat transfer surgery. Brazilian butt lift in the UK has become an increasingly requested procedure with 20% growth in Patient numbers annually. The traditional method of buttock augmentation involved buttock implants. The rate of complications after buttock implant surgery has often been viewed as acceptably high, with higher rates of implant-related complications, including infection. In 2020 alone, there were reported to be over 40,000 buttock augmentation procedures, including both buttock implants and fat transfer to the buttocks.

Reports surfaced in 2015 detailing serious complications associated with BBL surgery, including fat emboli and inadvertent fat injection into the deep pelvic veins. BAAPS, therefore, advised its members not to perform gluteal fat grafting.

RELATED: Is the Brazilian Butt Lift Safe?

Brazilian Butt Lift Overview

BBL surgery is a specialised body contouring procedure designed to enhance the fullness and shape of the buttocks by removing fat from other areas of the body using liposuction. Common liposuction areas include the abdomen, flanks and thighs. The fat that has been removed will then be processed to remove impurities before being injected into the buttocks. The procedure produces a more defined and fuller shape of the buttocks. As with any surgical procedure, BBL surgery involves certain risks that must be understood before deciding to undergo the procedure.

RELATED: What are the different types of Brazilian Butt Lift or BBL?

What do the new BBL guidelines recommend?

The driving force behind the new guidelines and procedure protocols has been encouraged by the development and refinement of new BBL techniques and technologies since 2018. The new BAAPS recommendations regard the procedure as safe, provided that important surgical steps are followed, including:

RELATED: ‘Brazilian Butt Lift can be made safer, say surgeons’ – BBC

Here at Centre for Surgery, we fully embrace the new BAAPS guidelines and have been using these techniques since 2019, which makes us one of the most experienced centres for superficial gluteal lipofilling in the UK, with over 500 procedures carried out with no serious complications over the last three years. All serious complications associated with BBL surgery have involved fat injection into the muscle layer. Our surgeons take precautions to avoid the deeper injection of fat into the muscle layer and use the ultrasound-guided BBL technique to ensure that fat is injected into the subcutaneous layer of the buttocks. Ultrasound guidance is the only way to ensure the procedure is carried out as safely as possible.

RELATED: Can a BBL and tummy tuck be combined using the same procedure?

Unfortunately, growing numbers of patients based in the UK continue to choose surgeons who are not listed on the GMC specialist register or choose to have the procedure abroad, including Turkey. The standards of medical regulation in Turkey and Eastern Europe do not match the highly rigorous healthcare regulatory standards in the UK. There could be a higher risk of serious complications, including severe sepsis, deep vein thrombosis, pulmonary embolism, and potentially fatal fat embolism when patients have a BBL abroad.

RELATED: New BAAPS Brazilian Butt Lift (BBL) Guidelines

Why choose Centre for Surgery for BBL?

Centre for Surgery is regulated by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) in the UK, and our state-of-the-art Baker Street clinic is situated in Marylebone, in the heart of central London. We have achieved a ‘good’ rating at our Baker Street clinic. Our standards of postoperative aftercare have been described as ‘outstanding’ by the CQC. All our surgeons who perform gluteal fat grafting, also known as superficial gluteal lipofilling, are listed on the GMC specialist register for plastic surgery and have extensive experience in performing fat transfer to the buttocks in London.

RELATED: Brazilian Butt Lift (BBL) before and after photos

Please call us today at or fill out the contact form below to schedule an in-person consultation with a specialist BBL Surgeon.

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Centre for Surgery is a CQC-regulated private hospital on London’s Baker Street, delivering plastic and cosmetic surgery through GMC-registered specialist surgeons. Our expertise spans facial procedures including rhinoplasty and facelift surgery, breast surgery, gynaecomastia surgery for men, and body contouring procedures such as liposuction and tummy tuck surgery. Patient safety, surgical excellence and natural-looking results sit at the heart of everything we do.

Centre for Surgery is a CQC-regulated private hospital on London’s iconic Baker Street, offering plastic and cosmetic surgery led by GMC-registered consultant surgeons.

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