J.Lo. Kim K. Beyonce. Freakin’ Pippa Middleton. If there were an award for Best Butt, these incredible women would definitely be contenders for top spot. We’re so glad that shapely backsides are considered “in” again and that we can celebrate a “juicy double,” in the immortal words of Sir Mix-A-Lot.
That said, some people will go to great lengths to achieve a round bum that looks like they’ve spent hours doing squats at the gym. One such procedure is the celebrity-favorite Brazilian butt lift (BBL), which involves a mix of lipo and transferring excess fat from elsewhere on your body (like the abdomen or lower back—adios, spare tire) and injecting it into your butt for a fuller look (hola, J.Lo booty).
But the BBL is an intense surgery with a long recovery time; you won’t be sitting at your desk or hitting the gym anytime soon. And they’re not for everybody. If someone is thin and doesn’t have enough fat to transfer to the booty, not only will they not get the shapely backside they’re looking for, but they might not be a good candidate for a BBL in the first place. They also run the risk of other health problems, like blood clots.
According to a research study in the Aesthetic Surgery Journal, the BBL is the most dangerous cosmetic procedure, with 1 in 3,000 BBLs resulting in death (THIS IS AN INSANE NUMBER). Seven hundred surgeons reported that 32 patients died and 103 others experienced nonfatal cases of pulmonary fat embolism, which is a blood clot in the pulmonary artery that is caused by fat entering the bloodstream. Clots like these are serious—they can lead to stroke and even death.
