“The BBL Smell Is Real”: Patient Says Odor Was So Bad She Had Surgery Reversed After A Year

Tiktok has discovered that the Brazilian Butt Lift (BBL) procedure, which has surpassed even breast enhancement surgery in popularity, comes with an unwelcome side effect: a bad odor.

Experts have since weighed in on the furor, claiming that smells associated with the surgical enhancement, which entails the use of excess body fat to enlarge inpatients’ behinds, are the result of a number of issues, including improper hygiene. 

Dr. Eric Anderson from Chicago’s Impressions Face +Body clinic confirmed this when he told the press, “The BBL smell is real.”

One of the causes of “BBL smell” is the injected fat dying off

Woman posing in a shiny rose gold sequin dress highlighting concerns over BBL smell and patient struggles with hygiene.

Image credits: Jacopo M. Raule/Getty

Speaking to the Daily Mail, he explained that one of the causes is surgeons injecting too much fat.

Blood is then unable to circulate the entire area, which then leads to fat necrosis, or, in lay terms, the fat dying off.

Situations like these often result in complications leading to the need of antibiotics or hospitalization.

 

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America’s Society of Plastic Surgeons has since weighed in on the trend and published a list of symptoms, which, along with foul odor, includes bruising, bleeding, scarring, numbness, and swelling.

Another cause that IG models are not talking about says one surgeon, is improper hygiene

But it is not only due to the lack of circulation, says plastic surgeon, Dr. Roger Tsai.

Man with glasses and a thick beard wearing a cap, discussing the BBL smell issue and patient struggles with hygiene.

Image credits: donpsoundsoff

In a TikTok posted in March 2023, he pointed out that one of the most common challenges faced by women after the procedure is wiping off after using the bathroom.

“Wiping down there is going to be a lot more difficult because there is more to reach around,” he said

According to GetSnatched, a cosmetic surgery outlet in Miami, smell is not always a negative sign.

Man wearing glasses and a hat discusses BBL smell issues and challenges patients face wiping properly after surgery.

Image credits: donpsoundsoff

Its website notes that “many patients are caught off guard by an unexpected side effect: an unfamiliar, often musty smell,” it said of the procedure, which originated in Brazil, hence its name.

It further claimed that the odor is “common and usually harmless,” and “part of the healing process.”

Be that as it may, the operator of the TikTok account Gen X Magical had a harrowing story to tell.

One woman with a personal experience had the procedure reversed because of the smell

Man with glasses and hat discussing the BBL smell as patients report struggle to wipe properly after surgery.

Image credits: donpsoundsoff

In her three part series she speaks of how she reversed her BBL because her “sit down” was stinking “real, real bad.”

“BBL stinks, do you hear me?,” she asked, before saying that the odor did not emanate from either of her orifices but rather from the incisions made during the procedure.

She acknowledged the backlash from commenters, and addressed it, saying, “I don’t care what ya’ll say, it stinks!”

@donpsoundsoff#fyp#fyf#bbl#surgery#datingstorytime#comedyvideo#blowthisupforme♬ original sound – Don P Sounds Off

“And if it’s not healing properly and your body is rejecting it the [incisions] will remain open and the drainage will continue.”

The tiktokker, who claims to have tolerated her BBL for a year before having it reversed, emphasized the stench, saying that leaking fluid “will stink up your linen, stink up your underwear, and stink up everything.”

Hospitalization is not the worst that can happen

Woman in a wet, body-hugging dress highlighting BBL curves, with focus on BBL smell concerns discussed by doctors.

Image credits: Gilbert Carrasquillo/Getty

According to America’s Society of Plastic Surgeons, the stench and even the risk of illness is not the worst-case scenario.

In a paper published in the digitized Nationalized Library of Public Medicine, it noted that 1 in 20,000 butt augmentation operations result in d*ath.

Man with glasses and hat responding to comment about BBL smell and personal hygiene in a casual indoor setting.

Image credits: donpsoundsoff

This article was published in the context of a 90 percent increase in the practice between 2015 and 2019.

Post COVID, the demand bounced back, an anomaly David Sieber, a plastic surgeon practicing out of San Francisco credits to the world’s ability to travel again.

@donpsoundsoff Replying to @fire #bbl#bblefffect#sideeffects#bodypositivity#lipo#viral#necrosis♬ original sound – Don P Sounds Off

“People are going to a lot of places where they’re in swimsuits, where they’re enjoying warm weather, and they want to look good and feel good, and because of that, more people are seeking out surgery,” he said.

 The U.S. outweighs the rest of the world with its demand for BBL

Doctor marking buttocks for BBL surgery, wearing blue gloves, highlighting concerns about BBL smell and patient hygiene challenges.

Image credits: Getty Images

The United States far outweighs the rest of the world in its demand for the BBL.

Another practitioner in the field, Dr. Josef Hadeed, MD, FACS, confirmed this when he said, “Miami is often regarded as ground zero for BBLs.”

There is a growing dislike for the procedure

Comment from a user describing the unpleasant BBL smell and difficulties managing hygiene during the first four months after surgery.

Social media comment questioning hygiene and wiping difficulties related to BBL smell and long nails after surgery.

Social media comment discussing BBL and personal opinions on the procedure and related challenges.

A social media comment from user Durrance Cindy reacting to a discussion about BBL smell and patient hygiene struggles.

Comment by Tutu D advising use of antibacterial soap like Dial Gold to help with BBL smell and hygiene after surgery.

Comment by user blackber33 about BBL smell, stating the need to put the fan on, displayed on a social media post.

User comment about their experience with BBL smell and needing to scrub more due to sweating after surgery

Social media comment praising someone's handling, related to BBL smell and patients struggling to wipe properly.

Comment on social media post showing a person reacting humorously while discussing the BBL smell issue and patient struggles.

Social media comment discussing the BBL smell issue as patients struggle with proper hygiene after surgery.

Comment from Dayna expressing confusion about why a BBL would cause a smell, highlighting concerns about BBL smell.

User comment on social media by Kamilah Rahshawn expressing contentment with being natural amidst BBL smell concerns discussed by doctors.

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