BBL Statistics – Risks, Death Rates, Trends, and other Brazilian Butt Lift Facts

Brazilian Butt Lifts has the highest mortality rates of any other cosmetic surgery. 1 in 3000 die from getting a BBL. This article presents the findings of the largest meta-study of the popular and trending BBL plastic surgery procedure to date. The datasets looks at outcome variables from several hundred thousand procedures. From this we can confidently extrapolate the death rate and other dangers involved in a BBL, as well as uncover a multitude of other facts.

To gain access to the dataset please reach out to researchcenter@bedbible.com. Please explain in short terms what you intend to use the dataset for. All statistics, facts, and other datapoints in the dataset is free to use in any commercial or noncommercial form, as long as it is followed by referencing this article.

Key Statistics

• +1 M Brazilian Butt Lifts was done in this year alone (increased by 650% in past 10 years).
• Up to 455 people have died from BBL surgery in this year alone.
• 1 in 250 women in the US have had a BBL.
• 11% of all cosmetic procedures are Brazilian Butt Lifts.
• 1 in every 2300 BBLs result in the death of the patient due to complication related to the surgery.
• BBLs are x30 times more dangerous (mortality rate) than breast augmentations.
• In the US, $2.8B worth of revenue is generated from BBL surgeries each year.

How many get a BBL?

• More than 1M Brazilian Butt Lift surgical procedures was done in 2022.

• 11% of all cosmetic procedures are Brazilian Butt Lifts.
• BBLs are the 4th most popular surgical cosmetic procedure, after Breast augmentation, Liposuction and Eyelid surgery.
• The number of BBLs performed annually have increase by 650% in the past 10 years. From 138,321 performed in 2012 to more than 1M BBLs performed annually in 2022.
• The number of BBL surgeries have increased +40% every year, for the past 10 years.

The growth can be seen in the dataset spanning back the past 11 years:

Compared to other surgical cosmetic procedures:

Compared to other cosmetic procedures, an augmentation of the buttock is the 4th most popular.

The top 10 most popular cosmetic surgeries are (with % of all types being this)

Death rate

The estimated mortality rate of complications during or following a BBL procedure have been put between 1:2,351 and 1:6,241. In other words 0.043% to 0.016% die from having a Brazilian Butt Lift..

Although it might sound like a relatively small number it is very high in the world of cosmetic surgery. Comparatively, only 1:72,000 (0.0014%) die from breast augmentations.

In other words:

• You are are up to x30 times more likely to die from a BBL surgery compared to a breast implant surgery.

It becomes even more scary, when you calculate how many have died from a BBL surgery in 2022:

• It is estimated that between 172-455 people have died from BBL surgery in 2022.

Trending (growth in the number of BBLs performed annually)

• The number of BBL surgeries have increased +40% year-over-year in the past 10 years.

However, a large part of the growth is driven by a general increase of surgical cosmetic surgeries!

The growth of all types of cosmetic surgeries are +9% year-over-year in the past 10 years.

Therefore, if we isolate the growth of BBLs comparatively to other types of cosmetic surgeries, we find that:

• Accounting for the general growth in the cosmetic surgery industry (+9% YoY) the number of BBL surgeries have increased by +31% annually.

Google search trends and Social Media

A large part of the growth is driven by an overwhelming increase in online interest, search and social media exposure.

This becomes visible when looking at google searches for “BBL” over time:

Cost of a BBL surgery

• The average cost of a BBL in the world is anywhere between $4,800 and $6,500.
• The average cost of a BBL surgery in America is $7,231.
  • The cheapest price found was $3,048 and the most expensive $15,215.

But we wanted a closer estimate of the price in America. So we sourced all the prices from all available cosmec surgical companies in the biggest US cities. Then we listed the lowest, and highest price. We also summarized and calculated the average price across all the companies.

There were also a number of other findings from this dataset:

• On average Memphis is the cheapest city to get a BBL (the average cost being $5,476 across all surgeons).
• On Average Baltimore is the most expensive city to get a BBL in (the average cost being $10,174 across all surgeons).
• The overall cheapest BBL surgery company is placed in San Diege (and costs only $3,048).

Compared to a Butt implant, the BBL is actually cheaper. A butt implant will set you back $5,280 while a BBL procedure on average costs $4,800.

The drop in cost

Some speculate the the price of getting a BBL has significantly dropped in recent years. This is likely true (however, no data excists, and we were not able to collect it).

However, a few arguments points to why the price would have dropped.

Since the invention of the BBL surgery in 1969 the procedure has grown in popularity.

As a surgical procedure grows in popularity a number of things happen:

• The procedure becomes more refined (cost of equipment drops).
• More surgeons specialize in the treatment – cost of human work goes down as:
  • Less preparation time is required.
  • Higher demand naturally lowers price amongst market-participants (surgeons).
• A growing trend is traveling to Mexico or other countries with cheaper pricing making American surgeons more willing to compromise on their margins of each procedure (lowering the cost).

Number of women who had a BBL

Due to non-historic data pre-2011 being available it is hard to estimate the exact number of women who have ever had a BBL surgery (red. any people, but a large majority of procedures are on women).

It is estimated that at least +5 million women worldwide have had a BBL surgery.

We can also roughly estimate that between 750,000 to 1 million American women have had a BBL surgery.

That is 0.4% to 0.6% of all American women. 1 in 250 women in the US have had a BBL.

Industry insights: Revenue generated from Brazilian Butt Lifts

• Worldwide the BBL industry is worth $6.5B.
• In the US, $2.8B worth of revenue is generated from BBL surgeries each year.

Surgery techniques

In this section, to help you as a reader we have described the brazilian butt lift procedure in three different ways.

#1 To a child,
#2 To an adult,
#3 To a professor.

1. Child explanation:

Have you ever heard of a Brazilian Butt Lift? It’s a type of surgery that helps people have a bigger and rounder butt! The doctor takes fat from one part of the body where there’s too much, like the belly or thighs, and puts it in the butt to make it look better. It’s like playing with play-doh, but with real fat!

2. Adult explanation:

A Brazilian Butt Lift (BBL) is a cosmetic surgery procedure that involves removing fat from one part of the body using liposuction, typically from the abdomen, hips, or thighs, and transferring it to the buttocks to create a more aesthetically pleasing shape. During the surgery, the surgeon will first perform liposuction to remove unwanted fat from the donor area. The fat is then purified, and only the best quality fat cells are selected for injection. The purified fat is carefully injected into the buttocks to create the desired shape and contour.

3. Professor explanation:

The Brazilian Butt Lift (BBL) is a multi-step cosmetic surgical procedure that involves the removal of unwanted fat through liposuction and the transfer of the fat to the buttocks. The surgery is typically performed under general anesthesia or intravenous sedation. The surgeon begins the procedure by making small incisions in the donor area to insert a thin, hollow tube called a cannula. The cannula is then used to suction out the fat from the donor area, typically the abdomen, hips, or thighs. The fat is then carefully purified to remove excess fluids and damaged fat cells, leaving only the best quality fat cells. These high-quality fat cells are then injected into the buttocks using small, precise incisions. The surgeon must pay careful attention to the injection technique and the amount of fat being transferred to ensure that the desired shape and contour are achieved while also minimizing the risk of complications. Proper post-operative care is also critical to ensuring the best possible outcome for the patient.

Why are they dangerous?

BBL procedures can cause a lot of complications for patients.

Some of them we have listed below:

1. Infection: Any surgery, including BBL, carries a risk of infection. The surgical site can become infected, leading to complications and potentially life-threatening conditions.
2. Blood clots: After surgery, there is a risk of developing blood clots in the legs, which can travel to the lungs and cause pulmonary embolism, a life-threatening condition.
3. Fat embolism: Fat embolism is a rare but serious complication of BBL. When fat is injected into the buttocks, it can enter the bloodstream and travel to the lungs or brain, leading to respiratory or neurological problems.
4. Skin necrosis: Skin necrosis is a condition where the skin in the treated area dies, leading to open wounds and scarring.
5. Anesthesia complications: BBL is usually performed under general anesthesia, which carries risks such as allergic reactions, breathing problems, and blood pressure changes.
6. Asymmetry: BBL can result in asymmetry or unevenness between the two buttocks, requiring additional surgery to correct.
7. Nerve damage: There is a risk of nerve damage during BBL, which can result in numbness or decreased sensation in the buttocks.
8. Poor healing: Some patients may experience poor healing after BBL, which can lead to open wounds, scarring, and other complications.

Some simply indicate poor results, such as number 6 or 8. However, others can prove fatal (and have already been fatal for a lot of people).

Quality control and ineffective regulation

The lack of quality control and ineffective regulation of the Brazilian Butt Lift (BBL) surgery are deeply concerning. BBL has become a very popular cosmetic surgery, but it is also the absolute most dangerous one. Despite that fact, there is currently no formal regulation or oversight of BBL surgeries, leading to a range of serious health risks and complications.

One of the major problems with BBL is the lack of standardized training and qualifications for practitioners who perform the surgery. Unlike many other medical specialties, there are no formal training programs or board certifications for plastic surgeons to learn the specific techniques needed to perform a safe and effective BBL procedure. This has led to a proliferation of unqualified practitioners offering BBL procedures, putting patients at risk.

Another issue is the lack of quality control in the manufacturing and distribution of the medical devices and materials used in BBL surgery. The devices and materials used in the procedure must be of high quality and meet strict safety standards to ensure that they are safe and effective. However, the lack of regulation in this area means that many BBL procedures use substandard and potentially dangerous materials that can cause infections, complications, and other serious health problems.

Furthermore, the lack of standardized protocols and guidelines for BBL surgery has led to significant variations in the procedure across different providers. This variability makes it difficult for patients to know what to expect from the procedure and how to choose a qualified practitioner who can perform the surgery safely and effectively.

In conclusion, the lack of regulation and quality control in BBL surgery is a serious public health concern. As an organization, we are calling for increased oversight and regulation of BBL procedures to ensure that patients can receive safe and effective treatments from qualified practitioners using high-quality materials and devices.

Interest in BBL surgery, State-by-State

The top 5 US states with the most interest in BBL surgery are:

1. Florida
2. Nevada
3. Louisiana
4. Texas
5. Maryland