Why butt lifts can be so dangerous

Updated 1429 GMT (2229 HKT) August 29, 2018

New York City-based plastic surgeon Dr. Matthew Schulman said of the growing popularity of butt lifts: "I have been calling it 'The Kardashian Effect' for almost 5 years now. It is a combination of increased popularity of Kim Kardashian, known for her ample backside, as well as increased popularity of social media."
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New York City-based plastic surgeon Dr. Matthew Schulman said of the growing popularity of butt lifts: "I have been calling it 'The Kardashian Effect' for almost 5 years now. It is a combination of increased popularity of Kim Kardashian, known for her ample backside, as well as increased popularity of social media."
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Singer Jennifer Lopez is well-known for her figure, and one of the major influencers in women wanting a curvier look and going for buttock surgeries, says plastic surgeon Dr. Stanley Okoro. The Brazilian buttock lift is now Okoro's most popular surgery in the U.S. and Nigeria.
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Singer Jennifer Lopez is well-known for her figure, and one of the major influencers in women wanting a curvier look and going for buttock surgeries, says plastic surgeon Dr. Stanley Okoro. The Brazilian buttock lift is now Okoro's most popular surgery in the U.S. and Nigeria.
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Rapper Nicki Minaj accepts an award during the 2015 American Music Awards. She is another one of many performers who have helped to make the fuller figure more popular.
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Rapper Nicki Minaj accepts an award during the 2015 American Music Awards. She is another one of many performers who have helped to make the fuller figure more popular.
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Women buy bottom enhancer products in a market of Treichville suburb of Abidjan, Ivory Coast, where "big is beautiful" bottom enhancers come in all shapes and sorts, and at any cost.
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Women buy bottom enhancer products in a market of Treichville suburb of Abidjan, Ivory Coast, where "big is beautiful" bottom enhancers come in all shapes and sorts, and at any cost.
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A shopkeeper in a market in Abidjan shows pots of cream thought to help enhance bottoms. The cream's label says it's made of cod-liver oil, honey or shea butter.
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A shopkeeper in a market in Abidjan shows pots of cream thought to help enhance bottoms. The cream's label says it's made of cod-liver oil, honey or shea butter.
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Butt padding is a less invasive way of helping boost one's bottom.
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Butt padding is a less invasive way of helping boost one's bottom.
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kim kardashian kanye west met gala 2015J Lo bum surgeryminaj bottombuttock enhancementbuttock creambuttock padding ivory coast

Story highlights

  • A butt lift involves taking fat from areas of the body where it's not wanted and transplanting it into the glutes
  • However, injecting fat into the buttock can easily lead to serious problems if done incorrectly

The desire for a larger bottom is becoming more popular, with the number of so-called Brazilian butt lifts more than doubling in the last five years.

However, a recent high-profile case involving a doctor in Miami who was banned from operating after the death of a patient during surgery highlights the risks associated with having this procedure. According to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, the Brazilian butt lift (BBL) has the highest rate of death of all aesthetic procedures.

    What is a Brazilian butt lift?

      Some people have a BBL for aesthetic reasons, but many have it after losing lots of weight, serious disfigurement after pelvic trauma or practical problems, such as holding up trousers.
      Black market butt injections: dangerous and deadly
      Black market butt injections: dangerous and deadly
      The procedure involves taking fat from areas of the body where it's not wanted and transplanting it into the glutes to enlarge them.
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      To be successful, a fat graft needs nutrition and so has to be injected into tissue that has a blood supply. Fat can survive if injected into other fat, but up to 90% of it can be absorbed if it is. Fat has more chance of staying in place if it is inserted into muscle -- but this is where the risk lies.
      Injecting fat into the buttock can easily lead to serious problems if done incorrectly. These include a fat embolism, when fat enters the bloodstream and blocks a blood vessel. In the lungs, for example, it blocks oxygen from entering the bloodstream, while in the brain it can cause a stroke -- both can be fatal.
      Does thinking you look fat affect your earnings?
      The volume of fat is also important. Most surgeons consider 300ml -- slightly less than a can of soda -- to be a safe amount. However, some more experienced surgeons use a much larger volume of fat that may be measured in litres.

      Why is the mortality rate so high?

      A 2017 survey of 692 surgeons from across the world investigated the rate of mortality among patients undergoing BBL. Throughout their careers, the surgeons reported 32 cases of death from a fat embolism and 103 non-fatal cases, but there are probably many more that remain unreported.