Awake BBL

Offered at our convenient location in Denver

awake bbl procedure

Full, lifted buttocks are a thing of beauty.

If your buttocks looks small, flat, or asymmetrical, Brazilian Butt Lift surgery will make a major improvement in the size, shape, and lift of your derriere. In order to accommodate both your aesthetic goals and the demands of your schedule, Dr. John Millard offers Awake BBL.

About

Awake BBL, as the name implies, allows you to be awake and cognizant during your Brazilian Butt Lift surgery. You will be 100% comfortable throughout the procedure and avoid the negative side effects that often follow the use of general anesthesia. Dr. Millard will artfully transfer your fat to your buttocks to add the definition and curves you desire, completely comfortable and awake.  

Unhappy with the shape of your backside? Contact Millard Plastic Surgery to learn more about how Awake BBL will boost your booty and have you rocking your jeans in no time! 

What is Awake Brazilian Butt Lift?

Awake Brazilian Butt Lift is a form of BBL surgery performed while the patient is conscious and under local anesthesia. Awake Brazilian Butt Lift reduces the risks of the surgical procedure and leads to a more comfortable, convenient recovery experience. The procedure is performed in two steps: fat collection and fat transfer. Dr. Millard will first perform liposuction to gently extract excess fat from one or more areas of your body. Fat is often collected from the stomach, thighs, hips, or back. Dr. Millard is a body contouring expert: this step not only gathers fat for transfer, it also gives him the chance to slim and sculpt these areas. The reduction in your waistline will make the final augmented contours of your buttocks look even more prominent!  

Denver Plastic Surgeon Dr. Millard has your health and comfort in mind. 

Your fat is collected for transfer using the Wells Johnson High Volume Precision Auto-Graft System. The Wells Johnson HVP Auto-Graft system purifies the fat and keeps it in a sterile environment from the moment it leaves your body until Dr. Millard re-locates it to your buttocks. Once the fat is ready for transfer, Dr. Millard will re-inject your purified fat into the appropriate areas of the buttocks. As a result, the buttocks becomes rounder, fuller, and more lifted

Dr. John Millard understands that most of us lead busy, full lives. He offers Awake BBL so that you can still achieve your dream body, without having to put your life on pause for a long, inconvenient recovery. Awake BBL takes the risk associated with general anesthesia out of the equation, as well as reduces the cost of the procedure.

Your dream body doesn’t have to stay a dream: you can obtain a show-stopping buttock, thanks to Awake BBL!

Are you a man who is dissatisfied with the look of your buttocks? Dr. John Millard offers Awake Brozilian Butt Lift for male patients seeking to lift and augment the look of their glutes. His careful, convenient BBL technique has helped countless men restore their confidence and get back to their lives, the beach, and the gym with renewed self-confidence.

Local Vs. General Anesthesia

Traditional Brazilian Butt Lift is performed with general anesthesia. Awake Brazilian Butt Lift is performed with local anesthesia. Local anesthesia offers many benefits to the patient, including:

Compared to general anesthesia, local anesthesia:

  • It does not cause long-lasting nausea. Some patients can feel ill for days after surgery with general anesthesia.
  • It does not put you at risk of anesthesia complications. An anesthesiologist must monitor your breathing and heart rate with general anesthesia.
  • Does not require you to receive a breathing tube, unlike general anesthesia
  • Facilities fees cost less and there are no anesthesia fees. This reduces the cost of your BBL.

Candidates

You are a good candidate for Awake BBL if you are dissatisfied with the look, size, or shape of your buttocks. Awake BBL is an excellent option for patients who want to achieve their best body contours, but who do not want to take extensive time off work or their usual schedules. 

Ideal candidates for Awake Brazilian Butt Lift Surgery are those who are in good health and at a stable weight.

You generally do not need to gain weight before your BBL: Dr. Millard recommends that patients seek BBL once they are at or near their goal weight. Even if you are someone who has been told you do not have enough fat for a Brazilian Butt Lift, Dr. Millard can likely still find adequate fat for transfer. He has been able to get 1000ccs or more from thin patients! Even if you are a fit person, you likely still have a store of fat on your body, especially in the love handles, which are often a good source of fat for transfer. 

In Dr. Millard’s opinion, patients should not gain weight for a BBL. It is a misconception that gaining weight will add extra fat that can be used for transfer. You already have a set number of fat cells on your body: you will simply be making your existing fat cells swell if you gain weight. If you try to lose the weight you gained after your BBL, the fat that is transferred to the buttocks can shrink. This is why candidates should be at or near their target weight before undergoing BBL. 

Patients who smoke will be advised to discontinue smoking at least two weeks prior to their surgery date. Smoking can impact the body’s ability to accept the transferred fat. Dr. Millard will discuss when it will be safe to resume smoking following your BBL. 

Benefits of Awake Brazilian Butt Lift

  • Make the buttocks more round
  • Lift the buttocks
  • Add just a little volume or add a dramatic amount of volume
  • Make the buttocks more even to correct asymmetry
  • Eliminate a square or sagging appearance
  • Achieve personalized results
  • More comfortable recovery
  • More affordable procedure
  • Achieve an hourglass figure
  • No implants, only your body’s own fat! 

Consultation

Dr. John Millard will custom-tailor your butt lift to you and the desired effect you want to achieve. He wants to make sure he will give you a result you will love! In order to determine your candidacy for Awake BBL, Dr. Millard will meet with you for a private consultation. He will explain the Awake BBL procedure in detail to you, as well as take time to get to know you and your health profile. He will assess your health history, medication use, and supplement use to make sure there are no contraindications with the surgery.

Dr. Millard will at all times put your safety and comfort first.

Awake Brazilian Butt Lift is an exciting option for patients: they frequently have many questions about local anesthesia and what to expect following their procedure. If you have questions about BBL, Dr. Millard will take the time to answer each and every one! You will also have the opportunity to view Before & After photos and watch videos of our patients as they happily undergo their Brazilian Butt Lift, awake and comfortable. 

How is Awake Brazilian Butt Lift Performed?

What makes Awake Brazilian Butt Lift different from traditional BBL is the use of local instead of general anesthesia. Local anesthesia will be administered to your liposuction sites and buttocks and given time to take effect before Dr. Millard begins your Awake BBL procedure. You will also receive an IV. You will be able to move and communicate with Dr. Millard as needed throughout your BBL, but will not have sensation in the areas Dr. Millard is treating. 

Brazilian Butt Lift is performed over a 1.5 to 4 hour period. The length of your procedure will reflect the amount of work required to achieve your desired buttocks size and shape.

Once the local anesthesia is in effect, Dr. Millard will perform liposuction to obtain fat for transfer. The lower back and hips are often the most viable sources of collectible fat. Dr. Millard is a body contouring artist and will sculpt your body as he breaks down your fat with liposuction. He will introduce tumescent fluid into the liposuction areas in order to help the fat cells swell and encourage the blood vessels in the area to constrict. Dr. Millard recommends that patients optimize their fat breakdown with VASER liposuction. VASER liposuction applies ultrasound waves to break down fat gently and efficiently. VASER helps to reduce trauma on the body during the fat removal step and gives Dr. Millard a greater level of control when slimming and sculpting your body.

Your broken down fat will be extracted using a Wells Johnson Continuous Lumen Cannula, or CLC. A cannula is a slim, hollow tube that extracts your fat while putting minimal strain on the body. The CLC harvests fat quickly at a low pressure and feeds it directly to the Wells Johnson High Volume Precision Auto-Graft system. This airtight, sterile system will get to work purifying your fat. Roughly 25% of the fat collected will qualify for re-injection. 

Dr. Millard will re-inject your fat into your buttocks to change the shape as desired, as well as enhance the beauty of your natural contours.

The HVP system enables Dr. Millard to control the pump speed, pressure, pulse rate, and volume of fat re-injection. This makes sure that the same, controlled amount of pressure is exerted on the body during both fat collection and re-injection. Dr. Millard takes six zones into consideration when transferring fat to the buttocks. He will target all or some of these zones based on your goals and the existing contours of your buttocks. Most surgeons will make hundreds of injections in order to evenly distribute the fat throughout the buttocks. The Wells Johnson HVP system and Dr. Millard’s targeted technique allows for more precise placement of the fat

Once he has achieved your desired size and shape, Dr. Millard will close your incisions and bandage your sutures. After your fat transfer is complete, you will be alert and ready to go home. If you receive BBL under general anesthesia, alternatively, you will likely be feeling groggy and possibly nauseous for hours or even days after your surgery. Awake BBL avoids all that, and still delivers a comfortable, rewarding surgical outcome! 

Recovery from Awake BBL

You will be able to return to work or your usual schedule within five to seven days of Awake BBL. You will feel soreness in your treated areas as your anesthesia wears off, but you will receive prescription medication to help you stay comfortable during your recovery period. Unlike traditional Brazilian Butt Lift, you will feel well and be completely clear-headed in the days following Awake BBL. You will avoid nausea and drowsiness that so often accompanies general anesthesia! Exercise can be resumed within six to eight weeks. 

You will receive recovery instructions prior to your surgery date. If you have any questions prior to your recovery, please do not hesitate to reach out to Dr. Millard

Your buttocks will be noticeably larger and curvier immediately after your BBL. Within four to six months, your body will have accepted the fat. The result? A full, voluptuous booty that you can’t wait to show off poolside. The outcomes of your Awake BBL will be long-lasting.  

Turn your dream body into a reality with Awake BBL at Millard Plastic Surgery. Contact us to learn more about the benefits of Awake BBL today!  

FAQ

When can I sit after my BBL? 

You can sit immediately after your procedure, but only for brief periods. Dr. Millard advises his BBL patients to purchase a soft pillow to sit on prior to their surgery date. Do not sit too long in any one position and continue to sit on your pillow over the first three weeks of your recovery. 

When can I take a shower after BBL?

You can shower the day after your Brazilian Butt Lift.

Is lymphatic massage necessary after liposuction?

Lymphatic massage has shown to help liposuction recovery after a BBL. While it is not recommended to massage the buttocks, patients will return the day after their BBL to receive lymphatic massage in their liposuctioned areas. We recommend that our patients return for lymphatic massages every other day until they have received five to ten rounds of massages.