The modern cosmetic surgery industry empowers you to get the look and body shape you want. These procedures may enhance your self-esteem and body image, but they come with risks.
Brazilian butt lift (BBL) surgery is one of the most popular cosmetic procedures. Unfortunately, it is also one of the most dangerous plastic surgeries, sometimes posing the risk of death.
What happens during a BBL?
Surgeons extract fat from other areas of the body (typically the abdomen), purify it and then inject it into strategic places on the derriere. The result is a larger, shapelier rear-end, a look that has skyrocketed in popularity.
What are the risks of BBL surgery?
As recently as 2017, the death rate associated with BBL surgery was as high as one per every 2,351 procedures. In recent years, the fatality rate fell to about one in 15,000, thanks to new guidelines making these surgeries safer.
Before the new guidelines, surgeons injected fat into the muscular area of the buttocks. Extremely deep injections can injure gluteal arteries, allowing the fat to enter them and travel through the bloodstream. If the injected fat reaches the heart, immediate death is the most likely outcome.
Now, surgeons strive to inject fat subcutaneously (just under the skin), leaving the gluteal veins intact and reducing the risk of injury and death. Despite new, safer guidelines, doctors may accidentally inject the fat too deep during BBL procedures, injuring or killing the patient.
Justice is in your reach
After losing a loved one or suffering injuries in a cosmetic procedure, victims may qualify for a medical malpractice or wrongful death claim under Pennsylvania negligence laws. The compensation obtained in a successful claim can improve your quality of life substantially.
If you’ve been injured during a BBL surgery, contact a Bethlehem medical malpractice attorney today.
