Women around the world are asking themselves a new question, “How much junk do you want to carry around in your trunk?” Hoda, on the “Today” show claims that “the Brazilian butt lift has women shaking their tail feathers.”

After having four children, 41-year-old Grace admits, “My butt has fallen and it can’t get up.” Thirty-eight year old Laurie says, “Men do like big bottoms. Did I think about that when I considered doing this? Yes I probably did.” Grace wants her butt to look perky and “up.” Laurie has dreams about becoming “bootylicious.” Both women would settle for looking like a cross between Kim Kardashian and Beyonce.

Grace and Laurie visited “Today” to show and tell their experiences undergoing the Brazilian butt lift. Their surgeon, who was in tow, claims, “Brazilians are famous for having a beautiful butt and that’s what we’re trying to achieve. No matter where you go the butt is in fashion.” He says that over the last year there has been a three-fold increase in requests for this procedure, over all ages and socioeconomic classes, and that this has become one of his most popular surgeries.

The Brazilian butt lift is a combination of procedures. First, liposuction is performed on the abdomen, hips, waist, lower back and thighs. The healthy fat that is collected is then strategically added to the buttocks to add shape and contour. The entire procedure takes between two and two and a half hours and costs between $8,000 and $10,000.

When Grace and Laurie appeared on the Today show a couple of weeks after the surgery, the first thing Hoda asked was, “Can you sit?” Laurie and Grace perched themselves delicately on stools without benefit of the hollow pillow, which is de rigueur post surgery. Grace said it was too early to know the surgery results because she was still swollen, but Laurie said she felt great and was pleased with the results. Next to them was poised a life-size dummy with back to the audience, sporting the one-piece undergarment worn during recovery, leaving the buttocks totally unfettered and compressing all the surrounding fat.

Hoda mentioned that a woman had died several weeks ago from a similar procedure. The surgeon explained that she had not died from plastic surgery; she had traveled from England to a hotel room in Philadelphia to have a dangerous chemical injected into her body ? industrial grade silicone. Unfortunately, he has also heard of people injecting motor oil and caulking from bathrooms. In contrast, autologous (your own) fat injections, used in the Brazilian procedure, are very safe.

If you are considering buttock augmentation, consult a board-certified plastic surgeon from the American Society for Plastic Surgery. The surgeon will also give you information about buttock implants, an alternative to autologous fat injection, so you can decide which procedure is best for you.