Surgery Plastic Surgery More Body Procedures How a Brazilian Butt Lift Is Done By Millicent Odunze, MD facebook Millicent Odunze Geers, MD, MPH, is a plastic surgeon with Dignity Health Medical Foundation. Learn about our editorial process Millicent Odunze, MD Medically reviewed by Medically reviewed by Casey Gallagher, MD on November 13, 2019 Casey Gallagher, MD, is board-certified in dermatology. He is a clinical professor at the University of Colorado in Denver, and co-founder and practicing dermatologist at the Boulder Valley Center for Dermatology in Colorado. His research has been published in the New England Journal of Medicine. Learn about our Medical Review Board Casey Gallagher, MD on November 13, 2019 Print A Brazilian butt lift is technically known as a gluteoplasty. Take a look at each step taken during the surgery in order to understand how the procedure works. 1 Patient Is Marked for Fat Transfer to the Buttocks Georgiy Datsenko / Getty Images The area where the additional fat is desired is outlined with a surgical marker. Your surgeon will also mark the incision sites through which the fat will be injected. The incisions are small. They may be approximately 2 to 3 millimeters in length (about the size of a grain of rice), but depending on the procedure they may be larger. Ask your surgeon about the anticipated size— they will do their best to make your incisions inconspicuous. Some will be hidden in the buttocks crease. 2 Anesthesia Is Administered Anesthesia is used to make you comfortable during your procedure. General anesthesia can be used. However, local anesthesia, with or without intravenous sedation, also known as "twilight sedation," may be used. Which type of anesthesia you receive will depend on you and your surgeon. It is possible to have a Brazilian butt lift without using general anesthesia. 3 The Harvest Site and the Buttocks Are Prepped for Surgery The harvest site is the area from which the fat will be removed with liposuction. The harvest site and the buttocks are disinfected by cleaning the areas with an antibacterial soap. Disinfecting the areas reduces the likelihood of an infection at the surgical sites. 4 Incisions Are Made at the Harvest Site(s) and the Buttocks Area The incisions are made at the harvest site and the buttocks area. The incisions at the harvest site(s) are the entry sites for the infiltration cannula and liposuction cannula. In liposuction, a cannula is a long, thin metal tube that is inserted into an area to deliver tumescent fluid or to suction fat from an area. The infiltration cannula is made specifically for injecting tumescent fluid into your fat. It is smaller than the liposuction cannula. The incisions in the buttocks area are the entry site for the fat transfer cannula. 5 Tumescent Fluid Is Injected Into the Harvest and Donor Sites Tumescent fluid is injected through an infiltration cannula into the areas of fat that will undergo liposuction. A lesser amount is injected into the recipient site—just enough to make fat injection tolerable. The tumescent fluid is comprised of two medications—lidocaine and epinephrine. These two medications are diluted in one liter of a saline-type solution. The lidocaine numbs the areas that will be treated. The epinephrine narrows blood vessels to minimize bruising and bleeding. 6 The Fat Is Harvested From the Donor Site(s) In order to obtain enough fat to transfer to your buttocks, you will have to have fat taken from other areas. This is done with liposuction. Common sites for obtaining fat include the abdomen and the flanks (love handles). The reasoning for this is that even with weight loss, fat in these areas tends to persist. The hope is that when fat is transferred to your buttocks, it will withstand the effects of weight loss. The fat is suctioned into a container made specifically for collecting the fat that will be transferred to the buttocks. This specialized canister keeps the fat from being contaminated, which decreases the risk of infection. The container also keeps air from interacting with the fat. Exposure to air decreases the fat's viability. Patients who do not have enough fat for a Brazilian butt lift are better candidates for butt implants. 7 Fat Is Transferred Into Large Syringes Once the fat has been collected into the canister, it is then transferred into large syringes. The fat is allowed to separate from the fluid. The fluid is the tumescent fluid that has not been absorbed by the body. The fluid is discarded and the fat is then transferred to smaller syringes. A special cannula for injecting fat is attached to the end of the smaller syringe. A smaller syringe allows for more precise injection of the fat. 8 The Fat Is Transferred to the Buttocks The fat is injected. 9 Incisions Are Closed With Sutures The incisions are closed with sutures to keep the fat from extruding from the buttocks. A suture is a strand of fiber, similar to fishing line, that is used to sew together the skin edges of an incision or cut. Steri-strips may be placed on the incisions after they are closed. Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Sign up for our Health Tip of the Day newsletter, and receive daily tips that will help you live your healthiest life. Sign Up You're in! Thank you, {{form.email}}, for signing up. There was an error. Please try again. What are your concerns? Other Inaccurate Hard to Understand Submit Article Sources Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy. Serra F, Aboudib JH, Cedrola JP, De castro CC. Gluteoplasty: anatomic basis and technique. Aesthet Surg J. 2010;30(4):579-92. doi:10.1177/1090820X10380389 Mejia JA. Gluteal reduction: a new technique with tightening, lifting, and reshaping effects on the buttocks. Aesthetic Plast Surg. 2012;36(3):550-6. doi:10.1007/s00266-011-9863-0 Sarkar A, Chatterjee SS. A simple method of injecting tumescent fluid for liposuction. Indian J Plast Surg. 2011;44(3):498–500. doi:10.4103/0970-0358.90837