Illegal Buttock Injections

One of the fasting growing plastic surgical procedures that I perform is fat grafting to the buttocks, also known as the Brazilian Butt Lift. In the course of this procedure, I remove fat from the abdomen, flanks, and lower back via liposuction and then graft it into the buttocks. With this surgery, I create for my patients a smooth hourglass figure with a small, feminine waist and buttocks with increased size, projection and symmetry. This procedure is overwhelmingly safe and is one of my favorites to perform. It is also among the most popular growing plastic surgery procedures nationally. In addition, there has been recent publicity around a non-surgical version of this treatment to perform less dramatic augmentations using the dermal filler Sculptra.

However, the illegal version of this surgery is unfortunately also becoming more common. People think that they may be able to take a shorter, cheaper route to their desired result by having a non-physician inject illegal, black market substances into their buttocks. I want to state emphatically that this is a very bad idea. Below, I’d like to tell you a cautionary tale about a patient I took care of in 2009.

This patient presented to the Emergency Room of Rhode Island Hospital in 2009. She had had some form of “HydroGel” injected in large volume, approximately 1 liter into each buttock, which is a very large quantity. I believe by “HydroGel” that she meant some sort of silicone-based product like silicone bathroom caulk. The patient said that she was injected by someone in Miami who claimed to be a nurse and who performed the procedure in their home, which is obviously not a sterile environment. When she came to the ER, she had a high fever and was draining puss on both buttocks, which were red, swollen, painful and infected. We took her to the operating room and because the external substance was so integrated into the tissue within and around the fat cells, we had to make multiple large incisions on both buttocks fat. Afterwards, her buttocks looked a bit like she had been attacked by a bear. The only way to eliminate the infection was to fully remove the external substance. We left the incisions opened and packed them with gauze. She was on IV antibiotics for nearly a week with daily dressing changes in the hospital before leaving Against Medical Advice and disappearing.

She ultimately went on Tyra Banks’ talk show to discuss her terrible and broke down in tears. This patient will have long-term consequences due to this single, poor decision. Do not gamble with your health!