Decisions about cosmetic surgery should not be based solely on cost. The cheapest procedure might mean that the surgeon does the procedure quickly and incompletely. Cosmetic surgery is a hand-crafted art form. Would you base a decision to buy a painting on its price or on the aesthetic judgment and skill of the artist? It is more reasonable to base your decision about cosmetic surgery on the surgeon's reputation, the surgeon's apparent skill, the surgeon's experience and the surgeon's ability to communicate with you in a manner that is professional, sincere, comfortable, and unhurried.

Five years after your cosmetic surgery, you will probably not remember the exact amount you paid for the surgery, but you will aware of the quality of the results for the rest of your life. The most common source of disappointment following plastic surgery is dissatisfaction with the degree of improvement ("it looks as if nothing was done") or unhappiness with uneven lumpy-bumpy results. The cost of cosmetic surgery should not be the main basis for your choice of surgeon. Do not put your body on the bargain rack.

The recuperation period used to be three to four weeks; however, with the latest advancements in the technique the recuperation period has been greatly improved, we recommend the use of ice packs for the first 48 hours, special stretching exercises. Although it will take one month before you feel completely normal most patients are back to work in one to two weeks.

One of the biggest improvements in the recuperation period has been the addition of the stretching exercises. You will be able to understand this concept through an example below:

You are someone who enjoys working out, but you have not been able to exercise in a long time. When you finally return to the gym, the following day you find yourself to be sore and in pain. Well, what happens if the following day you decide not to return because you feel too much discomfort? Exactly, you will feel even more discomfort and the soreness persists and gets worse as the week progresses. However, what happens if you decided that even though you are sore you have made the commitment to return to the gym not matter what. Well, when you first start your exercise you are very sore, but as the work out progresses the muscles loosens up and the discomfort improve and almost goes away. The same principal to the gluteus augmentation, the quicker you stretch the quicker the muscle will relax and not go into spasm, tremendously improving your recuperation period.

The patient can sit from the first day after the surgery for any of the bodily necessities, however sitting for prolonged periods of time i.e. watching TV, computer work, etc we suggest about one week. This takes the stress off of the suture line and allows for better wound healing. We recommend our patients to lie on their stomachs during leisure time and to sleep on their stomachs for one week you will also be wearing a garment for at least 2-3 weeks.

This also is a very common question and the answer is - No. Please perform the following test with me. You are currently sitting so please take your hand and place it on the bottom part of you buttock, the part that you are sitting on. You will notice that this area is bony and it is called the ischial tuberosity. Well, keep your hand on this area and stand up. When you stand, you will notice that your hand is way down there and nowhere near your actual buttock. The implant is placed under the muscle and is way above this area so you are never sitting on the implant.

This is a very common question, unlike the silicone breast implants which are made of a silicone gel, which means that the gel of the implant can leak, the buttock implant is made out of solid silicone, and so it cannot rupture or leak. This is the beauty of this implant; even though it is solid the feel of the implant is soft. When someone touches your buttock it has a natural feel to it, it will feel like a firm buttock, like you have worked out vigorously for many years.

There have been many studies made on the safety of silicone and to this date there is no evidence linking silicone to any autoimmune diseases or causing any medial problems. Most of the studies have been done on breast implants, the liquid and gel silicone type. The solid silicone form has been used for years without any problems.

Like any surgical procedures, complications although as rare as they may be, still exist.

The Complications are:

1. Bleeding or Hematoma - This is a collection of blood around the implants. This can occur but it is extremely rare, if it does occur this would require exploration of the wound along with drainage of the hematoma and control of any bleeding if it is still present.
2. Infection - Again extremely rare, however if is this occurs the implant will need to be removed and you will have to take antibiotics that are specific to your particular infection. The implant can then be reinserted in about 3 months as long as the infection is cleared.
3. Capsular contracture - (hardening of the implant from excessive scaring). This is extremely rare with buttock augmentation; this problem is seen more often with breast augmentation. In the buttocks area because the implant is placed under the muscle and it is an area that is in constant motion, the capsule usually remains soft. However, if this were to occur, then one could try certain medicines like papavarine, vitamin E and indomethecin along with Ultrasound therapy to try and soften the capsule. Sometimes this form of therapy does not work and it may mean re-operating and even perhaps having to remove the implants.
4. Nerve damage or sensation changes in the leg - The specific nerve that we would be concerned about is the sciatic nerve. If this were the case then you may feel some pain, discomfort or electrical type shock that radiates down the leg. This is extremely rare since the implant is placed higher than where the nerve is located. If this occurs then we would try conservative therapy first to let the swelling and wound healing process take place. We could also add ultrasound therapy along with medical therapy; However if the problem persists then the implant may need to be removed. As we stated, this is a very rare problem, however what is more common, is that one may experience some temporary skin numbness or sweating of the buttock area along with temperature changes in the buttock area the sensation of (feeling cool or warm). This usually resolves over a one to three month period, and it is usually from swelling. We could also add ultrasound therapy along with medical therapy.
5. Displacement of the implant - In this scenario the implant moves to far down the buttock area or to far to the side. The reason why is because the implant dissects down the tissues and creates a bigger implant pocket. The correction would require either internal suturing of the capsule to make the implant pocket smaller or removal of the implant. If the implant is removed then we could place the implant back after 3 months.
6. Wound healing problems or Wound dehiscence - The wound may open up, requiring dressing changes until it heals. The area in which the incision is placed which is right down the center of the sacrum has tension and is in an area that is difficult to keep clean. Therefore in some patients minor wound problems develop, like the wound opens or has persistent drainage. This problem usually resolves on its own and it just a matter of letting time heal the wound.
7. Prolonged fluid drainage from the incision site - This usually is localized fluid that is around the incision site and not the implant. Many times it may require the wound to be explored and make sure it is not a more severe infection. Often it is a suture that has become infected and needs to be removed. The solution may be to either remove the suture and the problem is solved or it may require that the wound be left open and allow it to heal on its own over time with the aid of dressing changes.
8. Fluid collection around the implant - This is most likely a seroma, which is a clear sterile fluid that the body produces as a reaction. This can easily be drained with a needle. This is a benign problem that usually resolves on its own and may not require drainage. Vary rarely will it require more aggressive therapy like drainage, re-operation or sclerosis. However it is important to distinguish this fluid from an infection. An infection is very different and will require the removal of the implant.
9. Bad scaring - This is hardly ever a problem because of the location of the scar. It is in the middle of the sacrum and is very inconspicuous so it is hard to see. Even if you do get a bad scar, it will be hard for anyone to notice. The scar however can itch.
10. Asymmetry - one side of the buttock looks different than the other side - this really is not even a complication since it is part of our normal anatomy to have one side of the body different than the other. When we perform the augmentation, you may become more aware of the differences. If you look at your photos before surgery you will see that the differences exited before.

The buttock is made of muscle, fat, skin and its underlying support is bone. The shape and contour of the butt depends greatly on the person’s framework the so-called -bony structure. However, its main volume and definition comes from fat. It is how this fat is distributed that will make the difference between an attractive, and a not so attractive buttock. For the purpose of this section, we will address only the evaluation of the buttock shape. Please remember that there are other variable that need to be taken into consideration before making any decisions (size, muscle density, and skin quality).

When evaluating the shape of the buttock, it is best to divide the anatomy into three sections; the upper buttock, the mid buttock and the lower buttock. Each area needs to be evaluated and addressed independently in order to provide the best glutei harmony.

The Upper Buttock: In this area, we need to address two factors: how much volume is present, and more importantly, how the fat is distributed. An aesthetic buttock has most of the fat located directly posterior on the buttock and has enough fullness superiorly to give it a lifted round look.

If more fat is located in the upper outer aspect, the so-called hip roles, then the buttock will look square and unattractive. Liposuction alone will improve the contour, but it will not add volume to the buttock. In order to increase the size, the fat from the liposuction can be injected into the upper portion of her buttock.

When a gluteal augmentation is performed, the implant is mainly addressing the upper buttock and the upper portion of the mid buttock. It will not address the other areas. In the majority of patients, a careful analysis of the middle and lower buttock needs to be made since complimentary procedures may be required in order to improve the overall shape.

Mid-Buttock: In some patients, an indentation can be seen in the midsection of the buttock. This is a very subtle finding and needs to be closely examined. If this area is not properly addressed during the procedure, the defect may become more obvious after the augmentation since we have just made the buttock larger. The best way to address this problem, is to transfer a small amount of fat (about 30 cc), in order to fill this slight depression and give it a rounder appearance.

Lower Buttock: This area typically has some excess fullness giving the buttock its droopy look. This fullness will be even more apparent immediately after the procedure since you are swollen. As the swelling begins to disappear the appearance improves, but the excess always remains. If this area is not addressed, it can give the appearance of dirty diapers or a droopy buttock. The key in improving this area is a careful examination to asses whether the problem is excess skin or fat. The treatment will be either liposuction or removal of the excess skin. In the vast majority of patients, the problem is usually some degree of excess fat. If this is the case, then conservative liposuction will improve the area. If the problem is excess skin, which is hardly ever the case, then it may require removal of the skin.

The Brazilian butt lift is a type of butt augmentation procedure which results in a youthful, prominent, perky buttocks and a more sensual body profile. People of all ages are having the butt lift procedure. The procedure is perform by removing fat from selected areas of your body (abdomen, flank, outer tights), purifying it, then re-injecting selected fat cells into the buttocks area. The process of fat grafting (fat injections) involves scores of many injections. The procedure is designed to fill the upper quadrant of your buttocks so that the butt appears lifted and perky. The resulting effect is that the woman appears younger, more attractive, sensuous and fit.

Several people have asked us if fat grafts are permanent. They keep reading from other sources that fat grafts are not permanent or that they may need another procedure. In our experience, when done correctly, fat grafts are permanent, some patients could experience a loss of up to 30% of fat duo to re-absorption. Our physicians anticipate this loss by injecting 30% over the requested sizes. We have yet to do a second procedure to add more fat in any of our patients.

• A more natural appearance, as the newly sculpted buttocks use fat from the patient's own body.
• Smaller incision area, resulting in less scarring.
• Shorter healing time.
• No chance of rejection.
• Procedure includes additional body sculpting due to liposuction from areas with excessive fat stores.

• Allows for buttock enhancement in patients with little or no fat deposits available as donor sites.
• No risk of significant fat reabsorption, a side effect in a minority of fat injection enhancements.

The buttock enlargement procedure, sometimes called a Brazilian Butt Fill, is suitable to both men and women and can make up for what nature have neglected to give you. If you've tried diet and exercise but still suffer from a poorly developed butt area, you might want to consider a Brazilian Butt Fill.

• The fat has to be aspirated properly

  High pressure suction disrupts and kills a certain percentage of fat cells. For this reason, we use a manual syringe technique, because the pressure generated by a syringe is much lower than that generated by a suction machine. Thus, right from the start, the chances of success are much higher. Is there an advantage to using a regular suction machine? Yes, it’s quicker and is less taxing to the physician. But it’s damaging to the fat cells. So--If you hear of somebody doing a fat grafting-Brazilian Butt Lift in less than four hours, chances are the grafts may not last and his patients are coming back for touch ups.

• The fat has to be processed properly

  We let the fat sit in a cool environment (slows down the fat cell metabolism) so the fluid separates from the fat. Then the fat is transferred to smaller syringes where it is then put in a centrifuge. The centrifuge is a machine that spins long enough to separate fluid and contents of dead and disrupted fat cells from the remaining live cells, but not so long as to disrupt live cells. We then separate the live fat cells from the body fluid and contents of disrupted cells by a decanting process which does not touch the live cells. The remaining product is almost 100% live cells. There are very little contaminants that may irritate the surrounding tissues. You want the recipient tissues to deal only with live cells, because any inflammation may end up destroying live cells.

• The fat has to be injected properly

  Think of the fat graft as a tender seedling that has to be planted in the ground, but instead of the roots growing out, the "roots" (blood vessels) from the surrounding tissues grow into the fat graft. If you inject a thick wad of fat cells, the cells in the center of the wad will starve before the blood vessels are able to provide proper circulation. Thus the fat grafts have to be injected with very fine needles in small quantities. This is a very painstaking and slow process. If you inject a lot at a time, many cells will not survive. Thus some surgeons may say "most of the fat got reabsorbed", whereas in reality, most of the fat never took in the first place.

• The post operative period is as important as the surgery

  We tell all of our patients that they should not sit at all for the first week after surgery. Think again of the tender seedlings. Once the fat grafts are in place, they are not likely to take root if they are being mashed on with all your body weight. You want to keep those grafts completely free of pressure until blood vessels grow into them and until those vessels are hardy enough to withstand the pressure and shearing effects of sitting on them. Wearing compression garments is very important, as they cut down swelling tremendously. When there is swelling, oxygen delivery and evacuation of toxins are impaired. This in turn reduces likelihood of fat graft cell survival.

There are two different ways to enhance the shape and sides of your buttocks:

1. Brazilian Butt Lift: Fat injections (fat grafting) A.K.A fat transfer to the butt
2. Butt Implants: Insertion of silicone implants

Our team of physicians will recommend butt implants over fat grafting-Brazilian Butt Lift ONLY IF you are really thin and have no body fat stored in your abdomen, flanks and lower back. If you have enough donor fat, our physician prefers to augment the butt using fat injections. They believe that this method results in the most natural and sensual look for the buttocks area. The fat transfer method has a lower risk of infection compared to the butt implant procedure.

An additional benefit of this fat injection method is that you not only get a more shapely buttock, but the area liposuctioned is now much leaner, giving you an hour glass look to women and an "X" shape to man.

The fat suctioned from abdomen, flanks, back and tights is carefully processed and purified such that only a fraction of the donor fat removed will qualify for re-injection to the buttocks. In order to get enough qualified fat, the physician must liposuction at least 2 areas of your body or one big area. Following liposuction, the physician carefully purifies the fat so that only the best donor fat cells are re-injected back into the buttocks for augmentation.

The purified fat is injected in small amounts into different areas of the buttocks and at various depths so that the patient will get the highest permanent absorption rate. Thus, the procedure usually involves 'hundreds' of micro fat injections. Correct injection methods are essential to achieve a uniform, smooth, natural appearance to the buttocks.

If the fat is harvested, processed, and injected correctly, the result should be long lasting. The procedure should not require touch ups or a second round of fat injections. The Brazilian butt lift result is highly dependent upon the experience of the surgeon. Surgeons who are not using correct purification or injection methods will not obtain long lasting results. Be sure that your surgeon is experienced in this procedure!

It’s our third most requested surgical procedure after Breast Augmentation/lift and Tummy Tucks.

Some small thin women do not have enough fat on their body to perform a Brazilian butt lift procedure. Thus, if a woman does not have enough donor fat, the other butt augmentation option would be silicone butt implants. For butt implants, a small incision is made in the crack between the buttock cheeks. The butt implants are then carefully placed in the tissues of the buttock avoiding the areas where important nerves lie. When the incision heals it is difficult to detect. The result is a round and prominent butt.

It is more difficult to fill out the lower part of the buttocks. The implants cannot be placed in this region because of the risk of nerve damage. To fill out the lower part of the buttocks, fat injection is used.

Following the Brazilian butt lift with fat grafting about one week, with butt implants you must not sit directly on your buttocks for up to three weeks. This ensures for a permanent result. Most people can return to work in 2 weeks, provided you do only a minimum amount of sitting. You must wear a special garment (to control swelling) for two weeks. There may be a small amount of swelling for up to 6 weeks. However, you should be able to resume all normal activities at 4 weeks post op.

Cosmetic Harmony requires a minimum stay of 14 days.

The butt lift is a relatively new procedure. The buttocks lift can be performed as a solo procedure or as part of the total body lift. The procedure improves the contour of the buttock and makes it perkier and more prominent when combine with fat injections or implants.

The butt lift can be achieved by two methods:

1. Removing excess skin and tightening the skin above the upper part of the buttocks will lift the buttocks. This procedure is for individual that have lost a significant amount of weight and have extra skin.
   
2. The butt can also be lifted with fat injections or implants. The fat injection procedure is also referred to as the Brazilian butt lift. In addition to more volume and prominence, these procedures give the butt more projection or lift. Fat injections tend to look more natural and round than implants. (Danilo activa las letra en azul como link a el procedimiento GLUTEOPLASTY)

If the buttocks are very large, the patient may first benefit instead from liposuction to reduce the overall size of the buttock. If, on the contrary, you want larger buttocks with more upper projection, you might be better served with a butt implant or fat injection. if you are looking for an overall larger and more natural look. Implants or fat injections will fill out the butt and lift the buttocks. Fat injections to the butt are also known as the Brazilian butt lift. This procedure tend to give a more natural look; However, if your buttocks are sagging, but you do not want an augmentation, the butt is lifted by removing tissue and tightening skin. If the sag is minimal, a ‘butt wedge’ excision might be indicated. The tissue is excised at the buttock crease. This leaves a relatively unnoticeable scar at the buttock crease.

This butt lift technique cuts out tissue at the junction of lower back and buttock. This allows for a true elevation of the buttock tissues and a reshaping of the entire butt. In combination with a liposuction of the hips and/or thighs it can result in a dramatic reshaping of the entire lower body.

The butt lift can be done under general anesthesia. For this butt lift technique, an ellipse of skin and fat is cut out from the upper part of the buttock at the junction with the lower back. Our physicians are very careful to hide the scar so that it is hidden even with a bikini bathing suit. The butt lift is easily tolerated as an outpatient procedure.

Yes, our physicians can lift the butt by removing excess skin and then also inject the buttocks with fat.

The patient is advised not to sit for one week so as not to stress the operated area. You may return to work in 2 weeks if you do not do a lot of extensive sitting.

The total fee for butt lift ranges from $13,000 to as much as $30,000 depending on the type of lift and what your goal is.