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Advice

Buttocks Enhancement

by Dr. Omeed Memar and Jamey Bell, R.N. - July 30, 2009

It’s summer so it’s time to show off. One of the most viewed and judged parts is our backside. We want it to be perky, firm, tight, smooth, and muscular. With age, illness, weight loss, genetics, lack of exercise, and certain medications, the buttocks tends to reduce in size. One common cause of buttocks atrophy is HIV medications. Lipodystophy associated with HIV medications can cause both muscle and fat loss from the buttocks. The remedy to this is not an easy one. To start, consider talking to your HIV doctor about options of switching medications. If that is not an option, then consider the cosmetic solutions, including implants and fillers.

The most commonly done procedure for buttocks enhancement is solid silicone implants. These are firm implants that are placed deep under muscle tissue. The problem with these include an increased chance of infection, dislocation of the implant, nerve damage, and disfigurement.

The most abundant filler is one’s own fat. Recent studies published in the past month, show that fat cells, in fact, survive long term when transplanted to the buttocks. In this procedure, fat is harvested from other body parts, usually the abdomen, chest or love-handles, purified and then transplanted under the skin of the buttocks. Here, about one third of the fat cells actually engraft and survive. This procedure is ideal in the few patients with enough fat to transfer.

In patients without fat to transfer, we resort to artificial fillers. Outside of this country, a filler named Bio-Alcamid has been used for large volume filling of the buttocks. Recently, numerous reports of infections with this filler have been reported. This filler is not FDA approved in the USA, and therefore not available in Chicago. Another filler that could potentially volumize this area is Sculptra. However, this is intended for facial filling and the amount needed for buttocks enhancement make it rather cost prohibitive.

A more affordable procedure is micro-droplet silicone injection in the skin of the buttocks. In this procedure, medical-grade silicone is placed in fine droplets in the skin, making the skin thicker. The silicone is permanent and should be performed by a trained physician. The risks include visible nodulesor infection. The procedure is repeated a number of times until the lasting cosmetic result is attained.