The “BBL” or Brazilian butt lift, is a popular plastic surgery procedure in which a patient, usually a female, has some of the excess stubborn fat on her body extracted through liposuction, before it is then purified and injected instead into her buttocks.
This procedure creates a more voluminous, curvy, and aesthetically attractive derriere, or buttock.
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Why is it called a “BBL”?
When used in reference to plastic or cosmetic surgery, BBL is an abbreviation for Brazilian butt lift.
The popular plastic surgery procedure is called a “BBL” for one of two reasons (depending on whom you ask):
- Some surgeons believe the term BBL refers to the fact women from South America (where Brazil is located) are inherently beautiful. And that the procedure helps others not so gifted to look great anyway.
- Others say the term BBL comes from Brazil’s most famous plastic surgeon, Dr. Ivo Pitanguy, who pioneered a version of the procedure in 1960. (Dr. Pitanguy then taught surgeons from around the world how to do it at the world’s first plastic surgery training center, which he opened in Brazil.)
Why is it called a “Brazilian butt lift”?
The Brazilian butt lift procedure gets its name from a doctor who was a legend and luminary in the world of plastic surgery: Dr. Ivo Pitanguy founded the world’s first plastic surgery training center, in Brazil.
There, he pioneered what has now become known as the Brazilian butt lift. Dr. Pitanguy taught surgeons from all over the world how to perform the BBL procedure.
Dr. Pitanguy passed away in 2016. His legacy lives on and he is still considered one of the most renowned names in plastic surgery.
Beyond his fame for the procedure that became know as a BBL, the doctor also opened a full wing of one clinic, which he dedicated to performing pro bono plastic surgery on people who couldn’t otherwise afford it.
It’s worth noting that the BBL procedure is actually rather safe, but only if it is properly performed. True, far too many women had died during or shortly after a Brazilian butt lift.
The procedure gets as bad of a reputation as it now has mostly due to unethical or poorly trained discount plastic surgeons, some of whom skirt the safety requirements and proper technique required of the procedure.
Other names for the BBL and butt augmentation procedures
For various reasons, plastic surgeons use different terms to refer to the cosmetic surgery procedures that enhance and enlarge the female buttocks.
Some of the most common names for buttock augmentation procedures are:
Buttock Augmentation
If no other modifiers are used, “buttock augmentation” is most often used as another way of saying BBL, or Brazilian butt lift.
But as the name implies, a “butt augmentation with implants,” however, refers to the use of implants to enlarge the buttock.
Safe Subcutaneous Buttock Augmentation
Because the “Brazilian butt lift” procedure has earned a very poor reputation for its lack of safety, an alternate phrase used by some surgeons is “Safe Subcutaneous Buttock Augmentation.”
The procedure produces the same end result as a BBL, and is the same as a proper BBL, but is taught and performed in such a way as to reduce the likelihood of adverse consequences, including mortality.
Gluteal fat grafting
Gluteal fat grafting is yet another name for the surgical procedure that enhances the size and shape of the buttocks through liposuction and fat injection.
Ironically, “gluteal” is normally defined as “relating to the gluteus muscles,” or refers to the muscles themselves.
But a BBL or buttock augmentation is safest if fat is injected into the subcutaneous space above the muscles, and not into the muscles themselves.
Superficial Gluteal Lipofilling
Superficial gluteal lipofilling is a term developed by the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons to convey a distinction between the “BBL” that had been banned in the UK for several years, and a new approach to the procedure that would make it safer.
Here again, “superficial” means that the injection of fat into the buttocks is done into the tissue above the gluteal muscles.
S-Curve Butt Augmentation
The S-Curve Buttock Lift® is a procedure developed by Beverly Hills plastic surgeon Dr. Ashkan Ghavami that accomplishes buttock augmentation: Liposuction, followed by Fat Preparation, followed by Buttock Fat Transfer.
Hourglass Butt Augmentation
The Hourglass Butt Augmentation® is a procedure developed by Houston, TX, plastic surgeon, Dr. Wilberto Cortés, M.D.
So, there you have it. How the Brazilian butt lift got its name and some of the history of what has happened to the name since.
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