The Brazilian Butt Lift is a popular cosmetic procedure, especially in the Miami area. Many women (and men) seek to enhance their buttocks, which causes them to visit one of our many cut-rate plastic surgery clinics in the area. With a Brazilian Butt Lift, a surgeon will remove fat from one area of the body and graft it to the buttocks.
However, the Brazilian Butt Lift is not a risk-free procedure. In fact, many people end up badly injured or even possibly dead when the surgeon makes a mistake. Below, our Miami medical malpractice attorney looks at some of the most serious risks.
Infection
All surgeries carry an inherent risk of infection, and a Brazilian Butt Lift is no different. The incisions used to transfer fat are relatively small, so the risk of infection is not substantial. Nevertheless, everything depends on how sterile the clinic is. Doctors often prescribe antibiotics to minimize the risk of infection, but many patients don’t take them.
Anesthesia Complications
Most Brazilian Butt Lifts are performed under local anesthesia. However, too much lidocaine can cause a patient to experience drowsiness, numbness, or slurred speech. More seriously, they could suffer respiratory and cardiac complications, including death.
To minimize these complications, patients must be honest with their surgeons about their complete medical history. They should also only use a board-certified plastic surgeon.
Embolism
This is a serious, life-threatening complication that arises whenever blood vessels are broken during surgery and fat gets trapped in them. The fat can then travel to the lungs or the brain, leading to death or disability.
Some surgeons are careless about where they implant the fat and how deeply. The fatality rate according to some sources for a Brazilian Butt Lift is 1 in 3000—a not insignificant number.
Clumping
This complication represents an aesthetic irregularity where the fat cells clump together after transfer to the buttocks. Clumping does not pose immediate medical risks; however, it certainly is not aesthetically pleasing and represents a failure of the surgeon’s skill.
Reabsorption
Sometimes, the injected fat is simply absorbed back into the body, which denies the patient any fullness to the buttocks, which is the whole point of the procedure. Though reabsorption is not life-threatening, it does require another butt lift if the patient hopes to see any tangible results, and a second procedure carries with it all of the complications mentioned above.
Did Your Butt Lift Go Wrong?
If so, please contact Dolan Dobrinsky Rosenblum Bluestein today. One of our Miami medical malpractice attorneys will meet with you to discuss your case. You can reach us any day of the week by calling 305-371-2692.