The Brazilian butt lift is the deadliest cosmetic procedure, an international task force has warned.
The procedure has surged in popularity as women seek to emulate curvy-bottomed celebrities, such as Kim Kardashian, Nicki Minaj, and Chloe Khan.
But the peachy posterior surgery also carries the highest death rate of any aesthetic operation, according to the MultiSociety Gluteal Fat Grafting Task Force.
They have called for plastic surgeons to reevaluate their techniques ‘urgently’ as they clamor to identify why it carries such a high risk.
The Brazilian butt lift has surged in popularity with curvy-bottomed celebrities such as Kim Kardashian driving trends (pictured wearing Tom Ford at the Spring Summer 2018 New York Fashion Week last September)
The MSGFGTF, which represents five societies, was set up following three deaths in Florida last year from Brazilian butt lifts.
It has since urged surgeons to ‘stay as far away from the gluteal nerve as possible’ when trying to achieve a peachy posterior.
In a ‘shocking’ report, the task force said: ‘The death rate of approximately one in 3,000 is the highest rate for any aesthetic procedure.
‘Every surgeon performing Brazilian butt lifts should immediately reevaluate his or her technique.’
The task force, which represents the American Society of Plastic Surgeons among others, said the deaths were presumed to be from tears in the large gluteal veins allowing fat to block major arteries.
But autopsies of some patients who have died have also suggested surgeons have injected fat deeper than they intended to.
It added patients who want a super-sized behind should have the procedure carried out in stages, rather than all at once.
‘The risk of death should be discussed with every prospective Brazilian butt lift patient,’ the MSGFGTF added in its report. It advised doctors to:
- Stay as far away from the gluteal veins and sciatic nerve as possible. Fat should only be grafted into the superficial planes, with the subcutaneous space considered safest. If the aesthetic goal requires more fat that can be placed in the subcutaneous layer the surgeon should consider staging the procedure rather than injecting deep
- Concentrate on the position of the cannula tip throughout every stroke to assure there is no unintended deeper pass, particularly in the medial half of the buttock overlying the critical structures
- Use access incisions that best allow a superficial trajectory for each part of the buttock; avoid deep angulation of the cannula, and palpate externally with the non-dominant hand to assure the cannula tip remains superficial
- Use instrumentation that offers control of the cannula; avoid bendable cannulas and mobile Luer connections. Vibrating injection cannulas may provide additional tactile feedback
- Injection should only be done while the cannula is in motion in order to avoid high-pressure bolus injections
- The risk of death should be discussed with every prospective Brazilian butt lift patient
Rapper Minaj has denied having undergone buttock-enhancing surgery amid speculation (pictured in May 2016 celebrating the opening of Manus x Machina at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York)
A Brazilian butt lift uses fat transferred from other areas of the body, such as the love handles, to provide patients with a fuller derriere.
Clinics have reported the procedure, which costs between £6,500 and £10,000, has seen more than a 50 percent increase compared to five years ago.
The procedure’s now widely-used nickname was coined in 1996 after Dr. Leonard Grossman was filmed performing fat transfer surgery on a patient from Brazil.
Kardashian has always denied having had a Brazilian Butt Lift or any form of bottom-boosting surgery. She underwent an X-ray seven years ago during an episode of Keeping Up With The Kardashians to prove she has never had implants. Rumors about her having them went viral again in 2016 when eagle-eyed fans spotted an indent on her backside. Kardashian claimed it was a rare side effect of having psoriasis injections in her bottom – but some doctors believe the dents are a sign of implants.
Rapper Minaj has also denied having undergone buttock-enhancing surgery amid speculation in the press. But Matthew Schulman, a board-certified plastic surgeon based in New York, argues on his website that ‘her current backside is not the same one she was genetically destined to have’ and claims she has had implants.
British glamour model Chloe Khan, who shot to fame in 2010 following an unsuccessful audition for talent contest The X Factor, told Closer magazine last year how she was unable to sit down for six weeks after having a Brazilian butt lift.
British doctors have today advised patients to carry out their research and choose their surgeons wisely.
British glamour model Chloe Khan told Closer magazine last year how she was unable to sit down for six weeks after having a Brazilian butt lift
Christopher Inglefield, of London Bridge Plastic Surgery, carries out Brazilian Butt Lifts at his Wimpole Street clinic.
He said: ‘So-called Brazilian butt lifts are becoming increasingly common as more women look to emulate fuller-bottomed celebrities.’
However, Mr. Inglefield added the MSGFGTF report, which was released in February, makes ‘shocking reading’.
‘Although the report offers suggestions for safer techniques, it avoids any reference to the training or qualifications of the practitioners carrying out gluteal fat grafting.
‘It’s so important patients do their research when choosing the best surgeon to carry out the work.’
His clinic performs closed fat harvest, which ‘avoids many of the complications talked about in the report’.
It is carefully treated with a sterile device before being injected under low pressure into the buttocks through one or two very small incisions using a 3mm cannula.
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