As the ageing process takes place, your buttocks may
start to sag and lose shape or volume. Similarly, if you
have a natural deformity or have been in traumatic
accidents, that have led to an injury in their butt
area, you will need to resort to a reconstruction
surgery. Pregnancy or a recent bariatric surgery
can also result in loose skin below the waistline.
If you are dissatisfied with the appearance of your
buttocks, you should read ahead to find a solution to
your problem and give a boost to your self esteem.
A Butt Lift can help you get your desired shape of the buttock, by adding volume or reconstruction.
A butt lift surgery aims to tighten the loose skin in the buttocks area and give the buttocks a more firm and enhanced look. It removes any sagging skin after an individual undergoes extensive weight loss and tones the buttock. This can be done through liposuction.
If any of the following conditions apply to you, then you
might be a good candidate for buttock lift:
You have undergone bariatric surgery or significant weight loss through dieting.
Pregnancy and/or aging have left you with loose skin and cellulite below the waistline.
You have significant skin laxity, excess skin, and sagging buttocks.
The layers of fat below your loose skin are relatively thin.
You should not smoke. Smoking slows down the healing process and increases the risk of serious complications during and after surgery. If you smoke, you must quit at least six weeks before surgery.
Your weight has been stable for at least a year, with no further weight loss expected. For optimal results, body contouring should not be done for about two years following the start of any massive-weight-loss program.
You are in overall good health without chronic medical conditions, such as diabetes or heart disease. People in poor health are not good candidates for body contouring procedures. You must obtain clearance for plastic surgery from your primary care physician or from doctors treating you for medical conditions.
You maintain a healthy diet. Problems such as protein deficiencies can interfere with healing.
If you are in good general health and have a positive attitude and realistic expectations, you are a good candidate for this procedure.
There are many techniques and kinds of a butt lift, but most commonly, an incision is made at the top of the buttocks, in the hips, groin, or under the buttock cheeks. Excess skin is removed and the remaining skin is pulled taut.
Liposuction may be used to further contour the buttock area or thighs to achieve a balanced look. Any incisions are sutured and closed in layers to ensure that the skin remains tight. Drains and dressings are placed and usually a compression garment or girdle is worn to reduce swelling and tighten the skin.
Depending on the quality of your skin, how much excess there is to remove, and your body shape, your surgeon will determine what the best options are for you. If there is a large amount of skin to remove, you may consider having a lower body lift, which would help remove skin around the stomach, buttock, thighs, and hips. If removing the skin will result in a loss of volume to the buttock, a buttock augmentation might be appropriate following a buttock lift.
Your plastic surgeon will brief you regarding preoperative instructions and answer any questions you may have. He will also need to study your medical history in detail, and perform a physical exam to determine your fitness for surgery.
Stop smoking, to promote faster recovery as nicotine constricts blood vessels.
Avoid taking aspirin, certain anti-inflammatory drugs and some herbal medications that can cause increased bleeding.
Drink plenty of fluids. Regardless of the type of surgery to be performed, hydration is very important before and after surgery for safe recovery.
Buttock lift is usually performed on an outpatient basis. Be sure to arrange for someone to drive you home after surgery and to stay with you at least the first night following surgery. This will ensure that someone would be available to help you, should you face any problem post-operatively.
Your buttock-lift surgery may be performed in an accredited hospital, free-standing ambulatory facility, or office-based surgical suite. Most buttock lift procedures take at least 3-6 hours to complete but may take longer.
On the day of buttock-lift surgery, a general anesthesia will be administered and a breathing tube to enable breathing. You are likely to be monitored for blood circulation and heart rate.
Drains placed to prevent blood/fluid accumulation. Once the output falls low enough, your drains will be removed, typically after 2-3 weeks or longer. Before leaving for home, you (or someone looking after you) should feel comfortable emptying and resetting your drains.
A compression garment may be placed during/after surgery, which helps to subside swelling, supports suspended tissues, smoothes and flattens skin.
You may go home on the day of surgery with skilled nursing help or spend 2-3 days in the hospital/an aftercare center with a nurse.
Your surgeon will discuss with you about the time you need before you can return to your normal level of activity and work. After surgery, you and your caregiver will recieve detailed instructions about the after care, including information about:
Drains, if they have been placed
Normal side-effects you will experience after the operation (slight pain on touch/movement, redness etc)
Any potential signs of complications
Immediately after your buttock lift:
Generally, you can expect your body to be bandaged and in compression garments. You may have some surgical drains in place. Once you learn how to take care of your drains, feel comfortable walking and moving, and are comfortable with oral pain medications, you will be discharged.
When the anesthesia wears off, you may have some pain. If the pain is extreme or long-lasting, contact your physician. You will also have some redness and swelling after the surgery. In some cases, the swelling will remain for weeks or even months.
Ensure that you do not do anything strenuous, like weight lifting, for 4-6 weeks during the recovery stages. If you have small children, arrange for someone else to be in charge of their care for two weeks.
Ask your surgeon how to sit and sleep, including the use of pillows, to minimize the tension on your incisions, reduce pain, and facilitate a thinner scar.
Buttock-lift surgery will require 2-3 weeks of recovery before you can resume normal activities.
Eat a healthy diet with multivitamin supplementation.
Avoid smoking and being around secondhand smoke.
Don’t go on a diet to reduce calories.
Give your fat cells adequate food and eat a higher calorie diet. There should be an excess of 2,000 calories a day with good fats (olive oil, nuts, walnuts, pecans) and almonds, for a time to be determined by your surgeon.
First discuss this plan with your surgeon who should be involved in your activities and recovery. They may want you to follow another plan and it is essential to follow your surgeon’s advice.
It is an autologous procedure and fat grafting is limited to the availability of fat in the body. If there is not enough fat to work with, the curves may not look very exaggerated.
The bone and the muscle structure cannot be altered and therefore the surgeon’s scope for making drastic alterations is limited.
This is the perfect procedure in order to improve the shape of the buttock area by making it rounder and fuller from a flat or a square shape.
The procedure is accompanied by liposuction of the abdomen, the back areas and flanks.
A butt lift improves the entire body balance of a person by lifting the buttock and shaping the waist.
It is easy to set unrealistic expectations from this procedure as well.
Your buttock area will look smoother and more toned.
Removal of loose, sagging skin and extra fat in your buttocks
Benefit of the results being permanent or very long-lasting.
Any discomfort caused by excess skin will be alleviated - excess skin and fat can make you uncomfortable and cause mobility problems.
Requires a long time for a full recovery (several months). Being in good health, not smoking, and having help after surgery will increase the speed of healing, improve your results, and prevent complications.
Future weight fluctuations can affect results.
The procedure could result in loss of volume in the buttocks. Getting the procedure done by expert surgeons, who have prior experience in the field can decrease the likelihood of loss of volume.
Patients with heart conditions or circulatory problems must not opt for butt lifts
Pregnant women and women who have just given birth must also wait until their body regains the original size and shape to get the procedure done.
People who are already recovering from recent surgeries are generally unfit for the procedure.
Butt implants: In this procedure, implants
are placed in the buttocks to increase their volume or
projection. However, implants are surgically more invasive and
may not provide a natural look.
Lower body lift: This procedure is used to
tighten the loose skin on the thighs, abdomen and buttocks. It
enhances the results of weight loss by pulling the the skin
and making the underlying tissues taut. Buttocks that are low
or shaped unevenly can be successfully given the desired shape
by the procedure.
Exercise and fitness: If an individual wants
to avoid surgery, then s/he can try yoga, aerobics and other
posture building fitness techniques which may make a
difference in the long run.
Incisions for a buttock lift could include a large incision on the top of the buttocks in the back or hidden underneath the buttock by the crease. While these are usually hidden with ordinary clothing, you may use creams to reduce their prominence/appearance. Consult your doctor if it remains painful/tender/red for a prolonged time, and you will be prescribed appropriate drugs. If liposuction is involved, there will be smaller scars that will fade and be mostly unnoticeable.
Butt lifts are generally quite safe in nature but some complications may include:
One needs to be very careful in choosing a surgeon for the procedure as the surgery produces considerable changes in appearance. You should ensure that the surgeon is board-certified or that a statutory body has approved the plastic surgeon.
The surgeon should have special expertise while making incisions and placing the implants or grafting fat. Nerve disorders or numbing can be avoided if the surgeon has considerable experience in performing the surgery.
There have been incidents when people have fallen prey to
quacks and therefore it is advisable to choose a surgeon by
recommendation from a trusted source. It could be a friend, a
doctor or even certain agencies that are dedicated to medical
services.
It is also important to enquire about the number of butt lifts
the specialist has performed and the success rates recorded.
