London—Despite the rising popularity of cosmetic procedures in the UK, where over 27,000 surgical enhancements were performed last year according to the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons (BAAPS), one treatment has emerged as a major red flag for medical professionals: the Brazilian butt lift (BBL). Surgeons and healthcare workers have sounded the alarm over the procedure’s shocking risks, including a mortality rate higher than any other cosmetic surgery.
BBLs: A Procedure Marred by Life-Threatening Complications
A recent Reddit thread asking plastic surgeons to name the procedures they would “never get” drew over 2,000 responses, with BBLs dominating as the most avoided treatment. Medics cited brutal recovery periods and a disturbingly high risk of fatal complications. “It carries a surprisingly high mortality rate, and the recovery is brutal,” one surgeon commented, while a nurse warned of risks like blood clots, sepsis, and fat embolisms: “If the fat travels into the bloodstream, it’s over. Not worth the risks.”
Plastic surgeon Dan Marsh, co-founder of The Plastic Surgery Group, explained the procedure’s inherent dangers. BBLs involve harvesting fat from the abdomen and injecting up to two liters into each buttock, either beneath the skin or into the muscle. The critical risk arises when fat is accidentally injected into deep muscle veins, causing embolisms that can lodge in the lungs and prove fatal. As the BBC has reported, BBLs have a mortality rate of more than one death per 4,000 procedures—the highest among all cosmetic surgeries.
Industry Warnings and Celebrity Regret Spark Caution
BAAPS has urged its members to reconsider offering BBLs, and Marsh himself stopped performing the procedure after witnessing a surge in complications. “I decided it was too risky,” he said, noting the irreversible consequences of even minor errors during injection.
Celebrities like SZA have also spoken out against the procedure, with the singer calling her BBL “stupid” and “not super necessary” in a recent interview. Reflecting on her decision to get the surgery after growing frustrated with slow gym progress, she emphasized the prioritization of mental health over physical alterations: “Wherever you go, there you’ll be,” she said, urging others to question whether the risks align with their values.
As social media continues to glamorize extreme body aesthetics, medical experts stress that the allure of a BBL often overshadows its life-threatening realities. With no regulatory mandate to restrict the procedure in the UK, patients are urged to research extensively and consult multiple board-certified surgeons before considering any high-risk cosmetic treatment.
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