Brazilian Butt Lift
in Novi, Michigan
We are proud to announce that Illuum Cosmetic Surgery is Michigan’s first center offering safe Ultrasound-Assisted BBL surgery. The Brazilian Butt Lift helps individuals seeking to enhance their natural curves and achieve a more balanced physique. The procedure is a cosmetic enhancement that transfers body fat to create a fuller, rounder butt. Our board-certified plastic surgeon, Dr. Lakin, accurately determines fat injection depth and placement with ultrasound, ensuring patient safety and quality.
Pioneer of Ultrasound-Guided BBL in Michigan
We proudly announce that Illuum Cosmetic Surgery is a pioneer in providing safe Ultrasound-Assisted Brazilian Butt Lift procedures in Michigan.
new technology
This exciting new technology is based on some state laws that recently went into effect and helped us perform BBLs safer than ever. Unfortunately, some states across the U.S. had problems with these procedures. Specifically, these problems occurred in non-accredited surgery centers. There, non-board-certified plastic surgeons or assistants performed liposuction and reinjections with as many as five or more of these new procedures daily. This prompted the passing of new state legislation requiring that all centers in these states must comply with new regulations, including limiting the number of BBLs to three cases per day and demanding the use of ultrasounds with all patients.
the first center in Michigan
There is no law in Michigan regarding this topic, but we wanted to be the first center in Michigan to use this new technology for your safety. At our accredited surgery center, only our board-certified plastic surgeon Dr. Lakin does the liposuction and the fat transfer reinjections. Furthermore, we take our time and limit our surgery center to performing at most two BBLs per day. Lastly, all of our cases are now being done under ultrasound guidance! Although this is not a requirement in Michigan, pioneering the newest and safest standards for our patients is essential.
under ultrasound guidance
With BBLs, there is a risk that with reinjection of fat cells, they can end up below the muscle, leading to a fat embolism. Although we have never had any complications after years of performing thousands of BBLs, we wanted to use this technology to help minimize the potential associated risks. Now, we can easily see the anatomical layers as we reinject the fat. This helps us avoid injection into or below the muscle layer deep and allows us to confirm we are safely reinjecting the fat into the subcutaneous (skin) layer.
high-quality liposuction
We carefully place our reinjection instrument into the safe subcutaneous plane and watch as we reinject the fat. Without rushing and by using meticulous attention to detail, we spend anywhere between 2–4 hours per surgery performing high-quality liposuction (depending on the number of areas treated) and fat reinjection. We even combine our BBLs with the Ab SilhouetchSM (our signature high-definition liposuction with abdominal etching technique) upon request in patients who are candidates.
Taking this vital step to be the first in Michigan to introduce ultrasound technology into our practice voluntarily is just another example of how seriously we take providing every one of our patients with the utmost quality and safety.
What Is an Ultrasound-Guided Brazilian Butt Lift?
A Brazilian Butt Lift is a buttock augmentation procedure that uses excess fat from your body, adding volume and lifting the buttocks. Ultrasound-Guided Brazilian Butt Lift (BBL) is a safe technique that involves using ultrasound imaging during the fat transfer process of the procedure. It differs from the traditional Brazilian Butt Lift procedure in that it incorporates real-time ultrasound visualization to guide the injection of fat into the buttocks.
In the traditional BBL procedure, the surgeon relies on their palpation skills and visual estimation to determine the depth and location of fat injections. However, by utilizing safe ultrasound technology, the surgeon can precisely identify the depth and position of the targeted anatomical structures, such as the muscle and subcutaneous layers, which enables them to avoid injecting the excess fat into or below the muscle layer and reduces complications associated with fat embolism.
By incorporating ultrasound guidance, Dr. Lakin can navigate the layers of the patient’s anatomy with greater confidence, optimizing the safety and effectiveness of the BBL procedure.
Brazilian Butt Lift Before & After
The Ultrasound-Guided Brazilian Butt Lift Procedure
We’re excited to share the innovative Ultrasound-Guided Brazilian Butt Lift (BBL) procedure available at our Illuum Cosmetic Surgery center.
Brazilian Butt Lifts are an outpatient procedure done asleep under general anesthesia at our AAAA-accredited plastic surgery center in Novi, MI.
Dr. Lakin will perform power-assisted liposuction (PAL) in predetermined body donor areas, such as your abdomen, waist, back bra rolls, hips, thighs, or arms. Small, inconspicuous incisions will be made, and a small tube will be inserted to suction out excess fat gently. This process contours these areas while providing the fat needed for your BBL.
Dr. Lakin also offers BBL Silhouetch℠, his signature Brazilian Butt Lift procedure that combines high-definition liposuction & fat transfer. We will simultaneously define your target areas (such as your abdomen, waist, back, and/or thighs) while safely transferring fat subcutaneously to your gluteal and/or hip areas to sculpt the curves of your figure artistically. The procedure typically lasts around 3 hours, depending on how many areas need to be liposuctioned.
The fat harvested will be carefully processed and then reinjected using a state-of-the-art BBL reinjection machine. This piece of technology allows us to separate the fat from blood, oils, and other fluids, ensuring that only the best-quality fat cells are used for reinjection. This machine also allows us to reinject the fat harvested from liposuction in a sterile, enclosed closed-circuit system reducing the risk of infection. Using this cutting-edge equipment, Dr. Lakin has complete control of the amount and location of fat reinjected.
We’ll employ ultrasound technology to guide the fat reinjection into your buttocks. The ultrasound device allows us to visualize the underlying layers of anatomy, including the muscle and subcutaneous layers. By accurately identifying the depth and position of targeted structures, Dr. Lakin minimizes complications and enhances safety. In addition, this technology enables symmetrical and precise fat placement, resulting in natural contours and optimal aesthetic results.
Dr. Lakin will strategically inject the purified fat into different areas and depths of your buttocks and/or hips using specialized cannulas. Then, the fat cells will be implanted to enhance your buttocks’ shape, volume, and symmetry, creating your desired contour. Once the fat transfer is complete, we’ll close the incisions with sutures or adhesive tape. You’ll then be fitted with a compression garment to aid healing and minimize swelling.
Do Brazilian Butt Lifts Really Work?
The simple answer is yes. Dr. Lakin works directly with you from the consultation through the recovery process to ensure that you get the exact results you’re looking for. By transferring natural fat from other parts of your body, BBLs create the most natural butt enhancement of any procedure.
And with Dr. Lakins 20+ years of experience, you couldn’t be in better hands.
Check out the gallery below to see some of our patient success stories!
BBL Cost in Michigan
Advantages of Ultrasound-Guided Brazilian Butt Lift
- Reduced risk of complications
Ultrasound-Guided BBL reduces complications by visualizing anatomy in real-time. In addition, the surgeon avoids injecting fat below or into the muscle layer, enhancing the procedure’s safety profile.
- More precise fat grafting
Ultrasound-Guided BBL allows for accurate determination of fat depth and position during the injection. This precision ensures the fat is placed in the targeted areas, resulting in completely natural-looking contours.
- Shorter recovery time
The precise fat placement minimizes tissue trauma, reducing swelling, bruising, and post-surgical discomfort.
Am I a Candidate for an Ultrasound-Guided Brazilian Butt Lift?
Your weight, fat distribution, and health goals are the main criteria for good candidacy for BBLs. The bottom line is that the fat transferred to your buttocks must come from your body.
With that in mind, the ideal candidate for a BBL procedure will be at or around their goal weight. Significant weight gain or loss following the surgery will compromise the procedure’s results.
Here are some criteria:
Adequate fat reserves
Good candidates for Ultrasound-Guided BBL have sufficient fat in donor areas like the abdomen, waist, thighs, hips, or arms.
Good overall health
Suitable candidates are in good health without significant medical conditions that may pose risks during surgery or recovery.
Realistic expectations
Suitable candidates understand the limitations of the procedure and have realistic expectations.
Stable weight
Candidates with a stable weight are preferred to ensure optimal and lasting results.
Brazilian Butt Lift Surgery Recovery Period and Aftercare
After the procedure, the proper use of compression garments and lymphatic massage are very important to help reduce swelling. You will be given two sets of compression garments (a first and second-stage garment) to help with swelling after liposuction and contouring of your buttocks. During this time, we also recommend lymphatic massages to speed up the recovery. We will explain and show how these massages should be done.
An important goal during your recovery process is to avoid putting direct pressure on the transferred fat so your results stay intact. We advise you not to sit or lay directly on your buttocks for four weeks and will provide you with a BBL pillow (regular pillows also work) to elevate your buttocks. You should avoid exercise or any strenuous activity for one month that might impact the final results.
During your recovery, you should expect to see the most swelling during the first initial days. You will begin to see your final results over the course of the first month, while the swelling gradually decreases with the help of compression and massage. Final results are usually seen within 3-6 months.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) About Ultrasound-Guided BBL Surgery
Combining an Ultrasound-Guided Brazilian Butt Lift with other cosmetic procedures is often possible, depending on your circumstances and the surgeon’s recommendations. However, we are not able to combine the BBL with a tummy tuck or breast procedure because the recovery position is opposite for those procedures. After a BBL, you will need to sleep on your front, while after the tummy tuck or breast procedures, you will need to recover on your back or sides.
Ultrasound-guided BBL is a safe procedure when performed by a qualified and experienced board-certified plastic surgeon at an accredited surgery center. In addition, ultrasound technology allows for greater precision, thus minimizing the complications associated with fat injections.
A Skinny BBL is a BBL performed in a skinny patient who does not have a lot of fat donor sites but also does not have a large frame so does not need a lot of fat to be transferred. A smaller volume of harvested fat often can satisfy the cosmetic goals of the patient to improve the shape of their butt and hips. In these patients, we are able to add on the Silhouetch℠ procedure in patients who are candidates at or near their ideal body weight to give the patient further definition of the underlying anatomy at the same time as the BBL. Silhouetch℠ is our signature technique of high-definition liposuction with abdominal etching to highlight the natural physique and give you a more toned, athletic look.
While this sounds like a great idea for patients who do not have fat themselves to transfer, it is not medically safe to do because fat from someone else would be rejected like an organ transplant mismatch. This is not done because of the risks of rejection and the need to be on organ transplant immunosuppressant medications for life. These medications come with their own risks. Fat transfer is considered an elective cosmetic procedure and not worth the risk-benefit ratio associated with transferring fat from someone else.
If you have no fat to transfer for a BBL, we recommend weight gain as your first-line option. Sometimes if patients gain 10-15 pounds they are able to enlarge their fat stores enough to harvest for a fat transfer. This is usually done in patients who have smaller frames and do not require a lot of fat transferred to achieve their desired results.
You can also try working out your gluteal muscles through strength training and weightlifting exercises though this can take longer to achieve your goals or may not get you where you want to be in regards to size and/or shape.
Fillers and buttock implants are other options for patients who do not have sufficient fat stores to transfer. Fillers tend to be a temporary (compared to fat which is permanent) and more expensive solution which we do not perform. We also do not perform buttock implant procedures due to their risks of rejection, infection, wound healing problems, rotation, and malposition requiring removal.
Everyone heals differently and has a variable amount of swelling so you may need compression for up to 3-6 months. In general, we recommend compression garments be used for 23 hours/day for 1 month, 12 hours/day for 2 months, and as needed for another 3 months. Please make sure that the garment fits snugly and gently. After surgery, you will have more swelling during the first few days and your compression garment may need to be loosened similar to loosening a belt after over-eating. You may have some temporary numbness and not realize how tight the compression garment is so please use your hands to check how tight the garment is. If you cannot fit your hand under the garment please loosen the garment. We do not need the garment to be on so tight like a waist trainer that you cannot breathe. The risk of the garment being too tight is that it can cause skin irritation, blisters, scarring, and permanent indentations. If you are using a foam board underneath your garment, please make that that it is not too tight as well. If it is too tight, you can cause indents from the board as well. Compression can be helpful, but it can also be hurtful if not used properly. Similar to the children’s story Goldilocks eating her porridge at the ideal temperature (not too cold, not too hot, but just right), it is important to make sure that the compression garment you are wearing fits just right.
Yes, we will provide you with 2 sets of BBL-specific compression garments (a first and second-stage garment). Different from standard compression garments for liposuction only, these specialized garments will be fitted to your body frame and are designed to enhance your gluteal region. They are specially designed to have two layers of compression over the areas of liposuction, and one layer of compression over the gluteal and hip areas where fat was transferred. This will help mold the areas of fat transfer to have some gentle compression while being allowed to expand and breath without too much pressure.
Yes, we will provide you with 2 sets of BBL-specific compression garments (a first and second-stage garment). Different from standard compression garments for liposuction only, these specialized garments will be fitted to your body frame and are designed to enhance your gluteal region. They are specially designed to have two layers of compression over the areas of liposuction, and one layer of compression over the gluteal and hip areas where fat was transferred. This will help mold the areas of fat transfer to have some gentle compression while being allowed to expand and breath without too much pressure.
Yes, you can have liposuction in the same area of the body multiple times to help you achieve the look you want. However, the goal of these plastic surgery procedures is to prevent you from having another liposuction procedure. Usually, the excess fat is completely removed from one area and should not return if you are following a healthy diet and exercise. It would be best to wait at least six months between treatments if needed. If your cosmetic goals are to achieve a specific look we may need to plan to schedule two rounds of liposuction and fat transfer. The skin in the buttock and hip is limited to receiving only a specific amount of fat. This amount differs from patient to patient and is related to their starting frame size as well as their skin laxity or tightness.
1) Your Starting Anatomy
Your unique genetic body frame type is the first factor that will help determine your final results from a BBL. We can enhance the appearance of the buttock within the constraints of your unique underlying body framework. You will need to have enough fat stores in order to safely transfer fat to achieve your goal results. Your target sites need to have skin quality which is not too tight and will accept the fat and contour best.2) What We Do During Surgery
There are technical factors that we have controlled for during surgery in order to maximize fat transfer viability (increase how much fat lives permanently) and safely sculpt your new body contours through liposuction and fat transfer.3) Recovery Factors
Then there are also recovery factors that we will educate you on regarding proper compression garment usage and lymphatic massage for optimum results. We look forward to meeting you during your consultation to discuss your goals and expectations and guide you through this exciting process!The BBL procedure is performed under general anesthesia so you will be asleep and not remember or feel anything during surgery. Patients should expect some postoperative moderate discomfort, bruising, and swelling for a few days after the procedure. After abdominal liposuction, it may feel like you did a crunches workout. Pain medications prescribed should help alleviate the discomfort after your procedure. You may still experience some mild pain up to 2-4 weeks postop. By 1 month postop you should not have pain and can resume all activities including heavy lifting and strenuous exercises. We will be in contact with you throughout your recovery to address any of your pain concerns.
Initially after a BBL, please resume your diet with light food then advance as tolerated. Please make sure you eat something when taking you pain medications which can cause nausea on an empty stomach. After surgery please a eat high protein diet which provides the building blocks for wound healing and fast recovery. Please avoid sugary and fattening foods. Also, please avoid spicy or salty foods after surgery because they can contribute to water retention and swelling. Please do not go on a starvation diet after surgery because your body needs good nutrition to heal properly. Please maintain an overall healthy diet.
Please wait 1 month to resume strenuous activities and heavy lifting after a BBL. You can walk 10 minutes/hour for the first month, but please do not walk 1 mile or longer at a time and please do not walk on the treadmill. Any cardio activity or light exercises even if not in the area where we operated should be avoided. Raising your heart rate and blood pressure as a result of working out can lead to swelling. Swelling can lead to unfavorable results because it prevents your skin from retracting to its new position. The skin needs to retract to its new position otherwise it will remain loose, spongy, and puffy and give the appearance that we did not do any liposuction. When you return to working out, please resume your activities gradually to avoid any sudden development of swelling. If you notice any extra swelling after the resumption of activities, please dial back the intensity or frequency of your workouts. Weight training builds muscle, and cardio helps lose weight. The best type of exercise is cardio workouts to help burn calories such as running, fast walking, swimming, biking, and elliptical. Weight training and sit-ups will help build your muscles to accentuate the high-definition liposuction results. A combination of both cardio and weight training will lead to the maintenance of a thin figure while at the same time building muscle under and around the areas where we did the liposuction.
You will see immediate changes to the shape and size of your buttock and hips after surgery. However, swelling in the areas treated by liposuction will get worse before it gets better and may take up to 1 month until you start to see your final results in those areas, and 3-6 months to see your final results. Bruising generally goes away after a few days but taking Arnica pills starting 2 days preop and for about a week postop may help. Arnica ointment applied to the bruised skin may help as well. There will be drainage from the incisions initially after surgery but as the liposuction incision holes close over a few days the drainage will stop. You can shower 24 hours after surgery and gently massage fluid out of your incisions to help drain any excess swelling. After your incisions heal you should continue doing massage 30 minutes per day for one month. Professional massages may help if you would like to have them. You can go in the pool or beach either after 2 weeks or after your incisions have fully healed.
BBLs are charged based on your body mass index (BMI), the number of areas treated by liposuction, and the location of treatment. Having your procedure done at our surgery center is more affordable than at a hospital where we cannot control expenses related to anesthesia and facility fees. We try to combine as many areas of liposuction as possible during your BBL but may need to stage your procedure on a separate visit if it looks like you may go over the 5 liters of fat removal limit. Please contact us for a consultation to discuss the several choices for payment we offer. A BBL is not covered by health insurance because it is considered an elective cosmetic procedure.
After your BBL procedure, you should avoid putting pressure directly on your buttock or hips for 1 month. It is important to avoid pressure on the areas of fat transfer because pressure can cause the newly transferred fat cells to reabsorb into your body. This will entail using a BBL pillow for sitting on your upper thighs to avoid pressure on your buttocks. We will provide you with a BBL pillow as part of your recovery package. You should also plan to sleep on your front and/or sides depending on the areas of fat transfer. We will advise you of the optimum positions for sleeping based on your specific procedure.
You will not have any visible scars after your BBL. The incisions for liposuction and fat transfer are so small that once they are healed, these incision sites are practically imperceptible. Plus the majority of them are hidden in stealth locations making them even more difficult to see. You should use sunscreen and/or plan to avoid direct sun exposure to these small incisions for up to one year to help with their healing.
Schedule a Consultation
Whether you’re looking for Dr. Lakin’s expert insight or know exactly what you’re looking for, scheduling a consultation is the obvious and easy next step. Sit down with one of Michigan’s premier plastic surgeons and start your journey into illuminating the best version of yourself.
Dr. Gregory Lakin, M.D.
Board-Certified Plastic Surgeon
Dr. Lakin is a board-certified plastic surgeon in Novi, MI who believes cosmetic surgery should illuminate the best versions of his patients. He is bilingual in Spanish after growing up in South Florida and living abroad for 7 years in Spain, Mexico, Bolivia, and Puerto Rico. He moved from his hometown of Ft. Lauderdale, FL with his family to practice in Novi and live closer to his wife’s family. Dr. Lakin has nearly 20 years of experience in plastic surgery and has performed over 20,000 surgical procedures in South Florida, Los Angeles, New York, Cleveland, and Detroit. He has memberships in national plastic surgery organizations and has received numerous national awards in plastic surgery.
