The American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) puts the surgeon’s fee for a Brazilian butt lift (BBL) at $7,000 to $11,500 (2024 data), which leaves out anesthesia, the operating room and other costs. Patients on RealSelf report an average total of $9,955, and practices that publish an all-inclusive fee list $7,000 to $25,000, most between $10,000 and $16,000. The safety record matters as much: a 2018 advisory from three plastic surgery societies put the BBL death rate at about 1 in 3,000, the highest of any aesthetic procedure, and later surveys estimate it lower.
- Surgeon’s fee, ASPS
- $7,000 to $11,500surgeon only, 2024 data
- Patient-reported total
- $9,955 averageRealSelf, 872 reviews, 2024
- South Carolina average
- $7,517CareCredit 2026, inclusions not stated
- Death-rate estimates
- 1 in 3,000 to 1 in 14,9522018 advisory; 2019 survey
What a BBL costs nationally
| Source | Figure | What it counts |
|---|---|---|
| ASPS, 2024 data | $7,000 to $11,500 | Surgeon’s fee only |
| ASPS, 2023 data | $7,264 average ($6,083 in 2022) | Surgeon’s fee only |
| American Board of Cosmetic Surgery | $6,000 to $17,000 | Inclusions not stated |
| CareCredit, 2026 study | $9,619 average ($6,366 to $16,240) in one article; $8,057 ($5,459 to $13,959) in another | Inclusions not stated |
| RealSelf | $9,955 average, $4,500 to $20,000 | What 872 reviewers say they paid, generally all-in |
CareCredit’s two figures come from the same 2026 study and disagree. The Aesthetic Society’s 2022 average of $3,522 combines fat grafting with implants.
What practices charge
All-inclusive fees, covering the surgeon, facility and anesthesia:
| Practice | City | Fee |
|---|---|---|
| Lyle Plastic Surgery | Raleigh | $7,000 to $12,500 |
| DeLuca Plastic Surgery | Albany | $9,620 to $12,760 (estimated total) |
| The Plastic Surgery Center | Sacramento | From $12,000 |
| Virginia Institute of Plastic Surgery | Richmond | $12,500 to $20,000 |
| Y Plastic Surgery | Atlanta | $12,900, except medications and lab work |
| Weiler Plastic Surgery | Baton Rouge | $13,200 to $23,000 “out-the-door” |
| R.A.M Plastic Surgery | Chicago | $16,000 with VASER |
| Colorado Plastic Surgery Center | Denver area | $17,000 to $25,000, with lipo 360 |
Surgeon’s fee alone, without facility or anesthesia: Dr. Brad Gandolfi, New York, from $9,500; Tessler Plastic Surgery, Scottsdale, $15,000.
The lowest prices come from chains. Mia Aesthetics lists a BBL from $4,300 on its procedure page and from $3,750 including anesthesia and facility in its cost article; the two pages disagree. Pacific Lipo in California lists $2,500 to $5,000 before anesthesia. A BBL includes liposuction to harvest the fat, and CareCredit says its figure varies with the harvest areas.
South Carolina
No South Carolina practice we found publishes a BBL fee. Crantford Costa Plastic Surgery in Charleston asks patients to contact it for pricing and restates an older ASPS surgeon-fee average of $4,277. Ulm Plastic Surgery in Mount Pleasant restates the ASPS 2023 average of $7,264 and says total costs often run higher once related fees are added.
| Source | South Carolina | Nearby | Basis |
|---|---|---|---|
| CareCredit, 2026 study | $7,517 | National $8,057 on the same page | Inclusions not stated |
| RealSelf, February 2023 data | $6,177 | Charlotte $9,259; Atlanta $10,750 | Patient-reported totals |
AnMed Health in Anderson lists a self-pay surgeon’s fee of $9,600 for simple and $12,800 for complex bilateral buttock augmentation in its price-transparency file (March 2026). That is the surgeon’s line alone, the file does not say whether the technique is fat grafting or implants, and it notes no such cases in the prior 12 months. Aetna’s cosmetic policy lists buttock lift or augmentation as cosmetic. See does insurance cover plastic surgery.
Is a BBL safe? What the sources report
The 2018 advisories. On January 31, 2018, a task force of ASPS, the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (now The Aesthetic Society) and the International Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery put the death rate at about 1 in 3,000 and noted three deaths in Florida in 2017. Every autopsied death showed fat in or beneath the gluteal muscle; “No postmortem has yet shown a case of death with fat only in the subcutaneous space.” A mid-2018 warning, joined by two more societies, put it in capitals: “FAT SHOULD NEVER BE PLACED IN THE MUSCLE. FAT SHOULD ONLY BE PLACED IN THE SUBCUTANEOUS TISSUE.” The January advisory also said the risk of death should be discussed with every prospective patient, and a June 2019 advisory urged “extreme caution.”
The mortality estimates disagree.
| Estimate | Source |
|---|---|
| About 1 in 3,000 | Multi-society advisory, January 2018 |
| 1 in 2,351 to 1 in 6,241 | Pazmiño and Garcia (2023), restating the 2017 ASERF survey |
| 1 in 3,448 in 2017, falling to 1 in 14,952 in 2019 | Rios and Gupta (2020), surgeon survey |
| 1 in 14,921 in 2019 | Pazmiño and Garcia, restating the same survey |
These are survey estimates. The 2017 survey (Mofid et al.) drew 692 surgeons reporting 198,857 cases, 32 deaths and 103 nonfatal fat emboli over their careers, and found that injecting into deep muscle raised the risk. By the 2019 follow-up, surgeons reporting deep-muscle injection had fallen from 13.1% to 0.8%. A count of South Florida medical examiner data found 25 BBL fat-embolism deaths from 2010 to 2022, 14 of them after the 2018 guidance and Florida’s 2019 subcutaneous-only rule.
Later guidance. A 2022 practice advisory added ultrasound documentation of cannula placement and a limit of 3 BBL cases a day. A 2022 joint statement from ASPS, its foundation, The Aesthetic Society and the Aesthetic Surgery Education and Research Foundation says office BBL should be done only by surgeons with privileges for it at a licensed surgery center or hospital, supports real-time ultrasound, and says deaths occur “from poorly regulated strip mall clinics to accredited surgical centers.”
Florida’s law. Florida statute s. 458.328 requires fat to be injected only into the subcutaneous space, never across the fascia over the gluteal muscle; ultrasound or equivalent guidance during cannula placement; an in-person exam no later than the day before; no delegation of fat extraction or injection; and one physician to one patient from anesthesia to extubation. Board of Medicine Rule 64B8-9.009 (effective September 16, 2024) carries the same subcutaneous-only standard. The 2022 joint statement mentions Florida emergency rules limiting BBLs to three a day; the current statute does not contain that cap. We found no South Carolina rule specific to BBL. Checks to run first are on how to check a plastic surgeon.
Recovery. ASPS says to avoid prolonged sitting for about two weeks, resume exercise after six to eight weeks, and seek care at once for shortness of breath or chest pain. The Aesthetic Society says many surgeons allow no sitting for the first 10 to 14 days and a compression garment for six to eight weeks.
BBL in Turkey, Mexico, Colombia and the Dominican Republic
Medical tourism marketplaces list BBLs from $3,000 in Turkey and $4,500 to $6,500 in Mexico (Bookimed, October 2026), $3,900 to $6,500 in Colombia and $3,500 to $6,900 in the Dominican Republic (PlacidWay); inclusions vary by clinic. CDC’s findings on the Dominican Republic belong beside them:
- Deaths. 93 US citizens died after cosmetic surgery there in 2009 to 2022, rising from 4.1 a year in 2009 to 2018 to 13.0 a year in 2019 to 2022 (MMWR, January 2024).
- What the deaths involved. In the 24 deaths reviewed for 2019 to 2020, liposuction was part of every case and gluteal fat transfer of 22. Fat embolism caused 55% of the autopsied deaths, and obesity and several procedures in one operation were common.
- Facilities and recourse. CDC says most facilities catering to medical tourists there have not met international accreditation standards, and that legal options after malpractice are very limited.
CDC also reported a 2023 fungal meningitis outbreak after cosmetic procedures under epidural anesthesia in Matamoros, Mexico: 184 patients potentially exposed, 24 cases and 12 deaths. We found no CDC or society report specific to Turkey. ASPS says complication and revision costs can exceed what the operation would have cost in the US. Financing and the risks of going abroad are on how to pay less for plastic surgery.
Frequently asked questions
How much is a BBL?
ASPS puts the surgeon’s fee alone at $7,000 to $11,500 (2024 data). RealSelf’s patient-reported average is $9,955, and all-inclusive practice fees run $7,000 to $25,000, most between $10,000 and $16,000.
Is a BBL safe?
Three plastic surgery societies put the death rate at about 1 in 3,000 in 2018, the highest of any aesthetic procedure. A 2019 survey estimated 1 in 14,952, as fewer surgeons reported injecting into muscle. The societies say fat should go only under the skin, above the muscle.
How much does a BBL cost in South Carolina?
CareCredit’s South Carolina average is $7,517 and RealSelf’s patient-reported average is $6,177 (2023 data). No South Carolina practice we found publishes its own BBL fee.
How much is a BBL in Turkey?
Bookimed lists BBLs in Turkey from $3,000. We found no CDC or society report on Turkey; CDC reports deaths and outbreaks after cosmetic surgery in the Dominican Republic and Mexico.
Sources
- ASPS: 2024 statistics report, 2023 report, BBL cost, recovery, cosmetic surgery tourism; ABCS BBL guide; The Aesthetic Society, recovery
- CareCredit: BBL cost (2026), mommy makeover (2026); Aetna CPB 0031; AnMed Health price file
- Safety: advisories of January 2018, July 2018 and June 2019; 2022 joint statement; Mofid et al. 2017; Rios and Gupta 2020; Del Vecchio and Kenkel 2022; Pazmiño and Garcia 2023; Florida Statutes s. 458.328 and Florida Board of Medicine Rule 64B8-9.009 (2024)
- CDC: MMWR, Dominican Republic deaths (2024), Yellow Book, Dominican Republic, Emerging Infectious Diseases, Matamoros (2025)
- Marketplaces and chains, cited as text: RealSelf (2023 and 2024 data); Bookimed; PlacidWay; Mia Aesthetics; Pacific Lipo
- Practices, cited as text: Lyle Plastic Surgery; DeLuca Plastic Surgery; The Plastic Surgery Center, Sacramento; Virginia Institute of Plastic Surgery; Y Plastic Surgery; Weiler Plastic Surgery; R.A.M Plastic Surgery; Colorado Plastic Surgery Center; Dr. Brad Gandolfi; Tessler Plastic Surgery; Crantford Costa Plastic Surgery; Ulm Plastic Surgery
Figures retrieved October 2, 2026 from each publisher’s own page. Fees change and cover different parts of the bill; a written quote and a frank discussion of risk with a board-certified plastic surgeon who has examined you govern. Body Sculpting Masters is a publication, not a practice.
