Background: Although the Brazilian butt lift (BBL) is one of the most popular procedures in body contouring, it has been associated with the risk of pulmonary fat embolism when fat graft is injected into the gluteal muscles. The subcutaneous plane has been identified as a safe site for fat graft injection, but deaths from fat embolism continue to occur because there is no mechanism to confirm consistent subcutaneous placement.
Objectives: The aim of this paper was to determine if real-time intraoperative ultrasound could accurately identify the subcutaneous gluteal anatomic landmarks and permit a single surgeon to consistently target fat graft placement in the subcutaneous space.
Methods: In total, 4150 BBLs were performed with real-time intraoperative ultrasound being used to confirm the subcutaneous position of a static cannula during fat graft injection. Serial deposits of fat graft were performed in each buttock. Ultrasound confirmed that fat graft consistently remained above the deep gluteal fascia and migrated through the deep subcutaneous space. These fat graft deposits were then equalized with a moving cannula to correct any contour deformities. Operative times were recorded and compared with BBL performed by expansion vibration lipofilling without ultrasound.
Results: Real-time intraoperative ultrasound allowed for the visual confirmation of consistent subcutaneous fat graft deposition and the targeting of fat graft into specific gluteal subcutaneous compartments.
Conclusions: Real-time intraoperative ultrasound allows the surgeon to confirm a subcutaneous-only fat graft injection, target specific gluteal subcutaneous compartments, and take advantage of the unique architecture of the deep subcutaneous space to create gluteal projection and correct contour deformities.
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