Florida Passes BBL Safety Law Mandating Use of Ultrasound Guidance

Jul 25th, 2023

Florida's House and Senate passed the state's first plastic surgery bill, HB 1471, mandating the use of ultrasound guidance during BBLs, aka gluteal fat grafting procedures, to improve patient safety.

Florida's House and Senate passed the state's first plastic surgery bill, HB 1471, mandating the use of ultrasound guidance during gluteal fat grafting procedures to improve patient safety. As of July 1, 2023, Florida physicians who perform gluteal fat grafting must use ultrasound guidance to ensure fat is only being injected into the subcutaneous space, and physicians do not accidentally inject deeper, resulting in fat being inserted into the muscle. In cases where fat grafts are inadvertently injected into the gluteal muscle, the fat can travel to the heart, lungs and brain, possibly resulting in fatality. Clarius, a leading provider of ultrasound devices among Florida plastic surgeons, highlights the importance of this new bill and the Florida Society of Plastic Surgeons dedication to getting government officials to pass the historic legislation.

Ultrasound Guidance Law for BBLs

Dr. Pat Pazmiño, MD, FACS has used ultrasound at his Miami practice for more than a decade to ensure patient safety. He currently uses the Clarius L7 HD3 wireless ultrasound.Photo courtesty of Clarius Mobile Health"We're elated that ultrasound is now the law of the land in Florida for BBLs. This is the first time a plastic surgery law has passed," says plastic surgeon Pat Pazmiño M.D., FACS. "The Florida Society of Plastic Surgeons has worked for decades as advocates for patient safety. We were honored to sponsor this bill and lobby government officials to protect patients. We are grateful that Governor DeSantis signed our bill into law and helped make legislative history! And we're also thankful to the team at Clarius for their incredible help and support."

Dr. Pazmiño has used ultrasound at his Miami practice for more than a decade and created the ultraBBL™ procedure, which combines innovative aesthetic surgery techniques with ultrasound guidance to ensure the safest outcomes. According to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, gluteal fat grafts, more popularly known as Brazilian Butt Lifts (BBLs), are known to have one of the highest mortality rates of any cosmetic surgery. To ensure the improved safety of these procedures, the new Florida law also prohibits surgeons from meeting patients for the first time on the day of the surgery and forbids them from delegating the surgical procedure to a nurse or an assistant.

Amanda Leyva, a patient who underwent BBL surgery a year ago, states she put careful consideration into finding the right plastic surgeon before undergoing the procedure. Her research led her to Dr. Pazmiño. "I was really excited to meet with him in person for a consult as most plastic surgeons in the area just want you to send in photos and then you go in for surgery before you've met them," she said in a recent video interview. "We talked about the procedure and about how he does it a little bit differently with the ultrasound technology that it makes it so much safer. Knowing that Dr. Pazmiño uses ultrasound gave me the confidence that I would be ok. It gave me exactly what I was looking for. There were no complications, everything went really well."

90-Day Emergency Rule

The new Florida State law was passed following the initial adoption of the 90-day Emergency Rule (64B8ER22-3) filed by the Board of Medicine and authorized by the Florida Department of State on June 14th, 2022. It also required physicians to use "ultrasound guidance when placing and navigating the cannula and injecting fat into the subcutaneous space," as well as "maintain the ultrasound video recording in the patient's medical record including the time and the date stamp."

"Within a month of the Emergency Rule, roughly half of the plastic surgeons in the state acquired a Clarius wireless scanner, rather than canceling surgeries," reports Clarius President and CEO, Ohad Arazi. "The Clarius L7 HD3 delivers high-resolution imaging to improve procedural safety in an affordable ultrasound solution that features advanced plastic surgery software, a dedicated BBL Preset, and Procedure Recording Mode to help surgeons stay ahead of evolving regulations. At Clarius, we're grateful for our close collaboration with trailblazing physicians like Dr. Pat Pazmiño who help pave the way for better patient safety."

More: 6 Ways to Stay Up to Date on the Latest Treatment Regulations [Survey]