Brazilian butt lift in vogue as Australian women try to emulate celebrities

WOMEN who are desperate to look like “bottom icons” Kim Kardashian, Jennifer Lopez and Nicki Minaj are driving record numbers of painful backside cosmetic procedures.

Before and after shots of a doctor, 35, who had a Brazilian butt lift procedure in November by Dr Kourosh Tavakoli.

IT’S THE Year of the Rear: women and even teenage girls are driving a massive bounce in surgical procedures to copy the look of “bottom icons” Kim Kardashian, Jennifer Lopez and Nicki Minaj.

The number of Australian women getting fat removed from other body parts and injected into their buttocks — known as the ­Brazilian butt lift (BBL) — has ­increased an estimated 26 per cent between 2015 and 2016.

For some surgical practices, the increase is as high as 400 per cent this year.

In the US, silicone buttock implant procedures have increased about 18 per cent over the same period, according to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons.

Australian Society of Plastic Surgeons spokesman Dr Jeremy Hunt said: “We do not have that data in Australia but we follow their trend.

“Erin Johnson” was unable to sit or lie down for a fortnight.

The doctor said she had been doing squats and exercise all her life.

“These procedures are definitely a new phenomenon on the plastic surgery landscape and are continuing to increase,” Dr Hunt said.

“I estimate that the number of both BBLs and buttock implants are at their highest levels ever in Australia. Kim Kardashian and Nicki Minaj have significant social media profiles and are really publicising their assets.

“They are the bottom icons here.”

Double Bay plastic surgeon Kourosh Tavakoli agreed the numbers had exploded.

“We are doing four times as many Brazilian butt lifts this year compared to the previous two years, and this is steadily increasing,” he said.

Rapper Iggy Azalea.

Azalea on the cover of new single Mo Bounce.

“As for celebrity influences in Australia, JLo would have to be the most requested size and shape, but really this is proportional to the ­patient’s pre-existing body shape.”

The BBL operation has gained popularity because it doesn’t require foreign bodies (such as silicone) and removes fat from undesirable locations, such as the thighs, at an average cost of $10,000 to $15,000.

Meanwhile, growth in breast enhancements — Australia’s most popular procedure — has slowed to just 2 per cent per annum.

Erin Johnson*, 35, had a Brazilian butt lift performed by Dr Tavakoli in November last year after deciding to prioritise it over breast implants.

Nicki Minaj. Picture: Instagram

Nicki Minaj takes heels to the beach. Picture: Mill Meek

A medical doctor herself, she had fat removed from her thighs and belly and injected back into her buttocks at a cost of $24,000. She said she is happy with the results.

“I never felt comfortable in jeans, lingerie or swimsuits, and, for women, our body shape is very important,” she said.

“I got it done for myself. When I told my fiance he was worried about it at first, but came to be very supportive.

“I had mixed comments at work. Some were saying that it was the easy way out and asking: ‘Why don’t you just do squats and exercise?’ I said: ‘What do you think I have been doing all my life?’ ”

Ms Johnson, who has Botox, lip fillers and plans to get breast implants, took two weeks off work ­because she was unable to sit down or lie on her back.

For an additional six weeks she wore a compression bandage, adding that “it is one of the more painful procedures”.

Ms Johnson said Kim Kardashian’s “megabutt” was “going too far”, but said women should be free to choose whatever shape they wanted.

*Not her real name