What Is a Brazilian Butt Lift (BBL)?

Written by WebMD Editorial Contributor
Medically Reviewed by Jabeen Begum, MD on August 19, 2025
10 min read

During a Brazilian butt lift (BBL) surgery, a doctor transfers fat from your belly, hips, lower back, or thighs to your buttocks. It's a three-step cosmetic procedure:

  • Doctors remove the fat using liposuction, sucking out your excess (extra) fat with a small plastic tube called a cannula.
  • The fat is purified to get it ready to be put back into your body.
  • Your own fat is then injected into the buttock area. (If you don't have enough fat on your body, using fat from a donor is not a safe option.)

The result is an hourglass-shaped figure with larger buttocks. It's not an actual "lift" because it doesn't try to raise your buttocks. Instead, a BBL increases the fullness of your buttocks. It can give you a smaller-looking waist if the fat comes from your belly or lower back. 

Other names for a BBL include: 

  • Autologous fat transfer
  • Gluteal fat grafting
  • Buttock augmentation with fat grafting 
  • Safe subcutaneous buttock augmentation (SSBA) 

A Brazilian butt lift can be risky and even fatal, but it is considered safer than other procedures to change how your buttocks look. In recent years, surgeons have changed the way they do it — to make it safer.

A BBL is a semi-permanent procedure. The results can last for years and even more than a decade. Maintaining your weight can help the results last.

The BBL is popular with some people because it can enhance the shape and size of the buttocks without the use of implants. At the same time, it removes fat from your midsection, where you may not want it anyway.

How your buttocks look is mostly determined by genetics. As much as you tone the area by exercising, your buttocks still may appear flat. People get a BBL for a number of reasons, including to change how clothes fit, reduce fat pockets, contour their figure, or improve self-esteem.

In the U.S., in 2024, doctors performed Brazilian butt lifts on 36,792 women and 628 men aged 18 and older. That's compared to more than 600,000 breast surgeries (in women and men), 171,000 tummy tucks, and 120,000 eyelid surgeries, all in 2024.

The majority (nearly half) of BBL surgeries done in the U.S. take place in South Florida.

You may be a good candidate for a Brazilian butt lift if you:

  • Are in generally good health
  • Have a body mass index (BMI) between 20 and 30(There may not be enough fat if the BMI is lower than 20. And if the BMI is higher than 30, there may be too much fat to notice a difference.)
  • Have extra fat that can be transferred to the buttocks
  • Have a little extra skin on the bottom of your buttocks
  • Want larger, rounder-looking buttocks  
  • Can avoid sitting for many weeks after surgery
  • Can avoid sleeping on your back for many weeks after surgery

A buttock implant is a silicone object placed in the area to enhance it. It is different from a BBL, which uses fat from your own body to make your buttocks look larger and rounder.

Buttock implants may carry more risks than getting a BBL. You can get capsular contracture. This is when the scar tissue that forms around implants normally becomes too hard and starts to contract. In some cases, this can cause pain or problems with how the implant looks. 

Implants also have a higher risk of infection after surgery. But buttock implants might be a good option for people who don't have enough extra fat to transfer for a successful Brazilian butt lift.

The American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) reports that the average cost for a surgeon to perform a BBL in 2024 was $7,000-$11,500. This doesn't include other fees such as anesthesia, facility costs, and post-surgery garments and medicines. Prices can vary widely for a variety of reasons, including where you live. Total costs can be as low as $2,900 or as high as $20,000.

Before scheduling a Brazilian butt lift, you'll need to meet with the surgeon. The surgeon will make sure you're a good candidate for the procedure. And if you are, the surgeon will figure out where to remove fat from and where to place it on your buttocks based on your desired shape. If you desire a drastic change, your surgeon may tell you that you'll need more than one procedure. 

When you go in for a BBL surgery, the doctor will give you anesthesia so you're not awake and won't feel any pain during the procedure.

The first part of the surgery involves liposuction. The surgeon attaches a thin metal hose (cannula) to a suction device. Then the doctor makes small cuts in areas of your body from where fat will be removed. The extra fat in your back or thighs is typically used. The doctor puts the cannula into the fat between your skin and muscle and sucks out the fat.

The second part of the procedure happens after the doctor removes the fat. The fat is purified by removing the extra fluid, leaving only fat cells.

The third part of the surgery is putting the purified fat into your buttocks. The doctor will make small cuts around your buttock area. Then they'll inject the purified fat into your butt using a different cannula. Most of it will go into the upper area of your butt. The area toward your anus and spine is avoided because there are many nerves and blood vessels there.

Finally, they'll stitch up areas where they made cuts.

They'll wrap up the affected areas with a compression band. This helps reduce bleeding. When you wake up, you may be groggy and sore. You may also have tubes inserted to drain the extra fluid.

You'll have a good idea of your new shape right after surgery. But you won't see the final result until after you go through the recovery period and swelling has gone down.

After getting a BBL, it is important to follow the recovery instructions from your doctor closely. If you don't, you risk killing the transferred fat cells. (Your body will absorb 20%-40% of the injected fat as it heals.) Following the directions after surgery can help you get the results you want.

Right after the surgery. You can expect bruising and swelling in the area from where fat was removed with liposuction. It may be hard to move around for the first few days after the surgery, but it's important to get up and walk. This will help with the overall recovery process. It will also help avoid constipation that can be caused by some narcotic painkillers. You may also notice some bloody fluid leaking from the cuts your surgeon made. This is normal.

Pain relief. Your doctor may give you a prescription medicine, or you may opt for an over-the-counter pain reliever. The pain should ease up after one or two weeks.

Your compression garment. For eight weeks after the surgery, you will likely need to wear a compression garment over the areas you had liposuction. This helps with the healing process. Any garment your surgeon gives you will typically have a cut-out for the buttocks. This avoids pressure on the newly inserted fat cells.

No sitting. After getting a BBL, it's very important to avoid sitting on your butt for at least two weeks — maybe up to eight weeks. Sitting on your butt can kill the fat cells or leave indentations, leading to a less-than-desirable outcome.

If you do have to sit down, you must use a special pillow. Your doctor may give one or recommend the one to get. For the first eight weeks, you should sit only on the pillow. You'll want to avoid sitting in the same position for long periods. This may affect how you work, especially if you are at a desk much of the day. You may opt for a standing desk so you can return to work sooner.

Sleep on your side or stomach. You should also sleep on your stomach or side for the first eight weeks after surgery to avoid killing fat cells.

Your activity levels. For the first month after surgery, you shouldn't do much. You should particularly avoid any activity that involves bouncing. After a month, you can begin lower-impact activities such as walking.

After two to three months. Your doctor will examine you to see how you've healed. You can usually resume any activities you enjoy, including high-impact ones. Always check in with your doctor before adding in an activity.

Any surgery comes with risk. With a Brazilian butt lift, there's a risk of fat being injected into the underlying muscle layers. When the fat is injected too deeply, it raises the chances of a fat embolism. This is a condition where fat gets into your bloodstream and travels to your heart or lungs, blocking arteries or veins. The result can be death. Some other risks are:

  • Infection after surgery
  • Changes to skin sensation, including numbness
  • Loose skin, particularly where liposuction was performed
  • Scarring
  • Bruising
  • Swelling
  • Skin discoloration

Due to awareness about the dangers of BBLs, the American Board of Cosmetic Surgery established safety guidelines. Board-certified surgeons doing BBLs must:

  • Use larger cannulas with ultrasound guidance when injecting fat
  • Inject only under the skin and above the muscle layer
  • Operate on only one patient at a time

A 2024 study showed that 82 of 85 surgeons injected fat only above the buttock muscles. And no fat embolisms or deaths were reported.

You can lower the risk of complications after a Brazilian butt lift by researching doctors thoroughly.

If you're considering a BBL, the first step is finding a surgeon. Because of the safety concerns, it's important to choose a board-certified surgeon with experience in BBLs specifically.

To evaluate plastic surgeons to do this procedure:

  • Find out how many BBL procedures they've done.
  • Ask for before-and-after photos of patients they operated on.
  • Ask if the surgeon uses blunt-tip cannulas rather than sharp needles to inject the fat.
  • See if they're certified by the American Board of Cosmetic Surgery.
  • Learn about where they perform surgeries and if the facility is accredited.
  • Consider how you feel around the staff and the doctor.
  • Read online reviews from many reliable sources.

Use search tools from the American Board of Cosmetic Surgery or ASPS.

Brazilian butt lift (BBL) is a type of cosmetic surgery. BBLs create a curvier body shape. The surgery involves taking fat out of your body, purifying the fat, and injecting it just under the skin of your buttocks. The fat should not be injected into the muscle. If fat is injected into the muscle, it could cause a fat embolism that could block arteries. To minimize the risk, only a board-certified cosmetic surgeon should do a BBL. And you should follow all post-surgery instructions. The recovery takes about eight weeks, during which you should not sit on your buttocks or sleep on your back.

 How is fat transferred during a BBL?

Doctors suck out your extra fat with a small plastic tube called a cannula. They then purify that fat and inject it back into your buttocks using a different cannula. The fat is injected just under the skin of your buttocks.

How much fat is transferred from your body to your buttocks during a Brazilian butt lift? 

To make a noticeable difference in the shape of your buttocks, a large amount of fat is removed from your body. About 1-2 cups of your fat gets injected into each side of your buttocks. Typically, fat is removed from rolls on your back or upper thighs.

Why is a BBL procedure sometimes fatal?

The most common cause of death with BBLs is a fat embolism. This can happen when fat is injected into the buttocks muscles instead of under the skin and over top of the muscles. Fat can get into the bloodstream and block blood vessels, such as in the heart or lungs. The chance is low, with 1 death in more than 23,000 surgeries, according to a 2022 survey by the World Association of Gluteal Surgeons. Some of the fat embolism cases were found to be due to surgeon fatigue from doing too many procedures in a day and from not using ultrasound to guide placement of the cannula. In recent years, steps have been taken to make this surgery safer. For example, surgeons are not allowed to inject fat into the muscle layer. They are limited to three surgeries per day. And they must use ultrasound during the surgery.