"If there's an easier way to see the results quicker then I'll go for it," says Blanca Lozano.
The wife and mother of two went for a fat grafting consultation.
"I want a natural look," she said. "That's what I'm aiming for, a little boost."
When we asked Lozano what her husband thought about it she said, "He's excited. He knows I have low self-esteem so he wants me happy."
Lilly Aguilar had been considering surgical help for some time.
"When I was done with my kids I was like I don't want to look like this. I felt disgusted with myself," she said.
The former promotional model says giving birth to three children had taken a toll on her body. She had her buttocks boosted as part of a total "mommy makeover" adding, "It was all about making me more confident in myself as life goes on."
Doctor German Newall is a founding partner of Texas' largest private aesthetic plastic surgery center.
"Body contouring is quite desirable now," says Dr. Newall, adding the Brazilian Buttock Lift is one of the hottest topics in plastic surgery. "You look around in the media and you talk about the Kardashians and JLo and a buttock enhancement is a big item now."
The founder of the Aesthetic Center for Plastic Surgery says the big booty boom started in Rio, but here in Houston the typical patient is a woman between her 20s and 50s.
"I think nowadays not only do the rich have accessibility to this kind of procedure but it's the common folk," says Dr. Newall.
Ten years ago patients would come in to have fat removed and thrown away. Now they are having it relocated as doctors say fat is a great filler. Dr. Newall and his partners developed a procedure where the fat cells are pumped, concealed in a tube as they are moved from one area of the body to another.
He says of former patients, "Their personality changes, they are back to their whole selves or even better, they feel pretty again, they feel sexy."
The recovery time is typically four to five days with enhancements of the buttocks starting at about $7,000.
When asked if we have become a more vain society, Dr. Newall replied, "In many ways I think maybe so."
In two years the clinic has performed 500 buttock lift surgeries, with the oldest patient being 75 years old.
Doctors caution patients shouldn't have unrealistic expectations. Even after the surgery there is some volume loss.
"Very often women come in and they look like my finger and they want me to give them a Jlo butt. I would love to be able to give them my fat but it doesn't work that way," says Dr. Paul Vitenas, a Board Certified Plastic Surgeon.
He cautions potential patients to do their homework before choosing a surgeon.
"The complication rate in aesthetic surgery is extremely small and it's very safe as long as it's done by people who know what they're doing and in a safe environment," he said.
"You definitely have to have a good support system if you are considering any type of cosmetic surgery," says patient Lilly Aguilar.
She describes life after surgery as very different, adding, "Ironically I have more women complimenting me and I have no shame, I'll tell people this is my doctor and this is where I did it. I have no regrets."
Medical experts recommend you make sure you are an informed patient before considering any type of cosmetic surgery.
- Choose a board certified plastic surgeon, that way you know they've gone through rigorous training.
- Do your research and request before and after pictures.
- Choose a doctor with lots of experience and consider the costs carefully.
