Silicone butt implants are a buttock enhancement option that predictably adds contour, volume, and projection. Theyâre similar to the silicone implants used in breast augmentation, but the silicone is semi-solid, not gel, so theyâre much more durable and donât come with the possibility of rupture. âButtock implants are one of the best options for patients wanting to increase the projection of their buttocks,â says Dr. Johnny Franco, a board-certified plastic surgeon in Austin, Texas.
Butt implant procedures can be combined with a Brazilian butt lift (BBL), a fat transfer procedure that involves harvesting excess body fat via liposuction from another body area and transferring it to the butt and hips. Some plastic surgeons say that this creates a softer, more natural look.
However, because Brazilian butt lifts can be riskyâparticularly when performed by anyone other than a board-certified plastic surgeonâbutt implants alone are considered a safer, more reliable option for butt augmentation.
Beverly Hills, California, board-certified plastic surgeon Dr. Ryan Stanton says that âif the implants are positioned correctly and the appropriate size and shape implant is selected by your surgeon, optimal results are obtained without the need for fat transfer, just as is the case with breast implants.âÂ
This plastic surgery procedure can also be combined with liposuction or other body contouring procedures.
Pros
ConsÂ
The price you pay will depend on your plastic surgeonâs level of experience, their practice location, which type of implant you choose, and who administers your anesthesia, along with other details of your procedure.
Most surgeons offer payment plans or accept financing options like CareCredit.
As you're picking your plastic surgeon, look for butt implant before and after photos of patients who started out with similar proportions to your own and got your desired projection.
Beyond the buttocks themselves, note whether the contours of the hips and the curve from the lower back to the butt looks smooth, proportional, and natural. If you see scars or an outline of the implant below the skin, look for another surgeon.Â
The butt implant photos in our gallery have been shared by the surgeon who performed the procedure, with the patient's consent.
These are the top advantages of butt implant surgery over a BBL:
Patients without much excess fat can still be good candidates for implants (though more surgeons are also offering a âskinny BBLâ thatâs expanding the range of candidates for this fat transfer procedure).
Of all the buttock augmentation procedures currently available, buttock implants are the least frequently performed. According to the latest data from the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, only 1,179 buttock implant procedures were performed in the U.S. in 2020 by plastic surgeons.
However, its popularity is growing: butt implant surgeries grew by 21% year-over-year, while BBLs declined by 27%.
When it comes to demographics:
Good candidates for this procedure are:
âUnlike with BBL, patients of all body mass indices (a.k.a. BMI) are potential candidates for butt implants,â notes Dr. Stanton.Â
A board-certified plastic surgeon who offers a range of options will be able to help you decide whether this is the best butt augmentation method for you.
âButt implants, like breast implants, come in a variety of sizes and shapes,â explains Dr. Franco. âThere are not as many options in terms of various sizes and shapes, but there are plenty for patients to choose from.â
Butt implants range from just 100 cc to 715 cc, and choosing the right size for you is one of the most crucial decisions in terms of getting the result you want. âIt is important to work with your plastic surgeon to find the best implant for your specific body that will help you achieve your specific aesthetic goals,â Dr. Franco emphasizes. âPatients tend to achieve more projection and shape than they think from a small implant. The most common mistake patients make is trying to go too big with their buttock implants. Patients that choose an appropriate size tend to be very happy for years to come.â  Â
Patients can choose either oval or round implants. âAnatomically, about 95% of the patient population have much more of an oval-shaped buttock muscle than round,â says Dr. Stanton. âThe only way to finalize the correct shape and size is by physical exam, to take measurements of the length and width of the muscle. The density and tightness of your muscles are the final determining factor in how thick of an implant (i.e., projection) can be safely placed.â
RealSelf Tip: Along with size, your surgeon should talk with you about implant placement: either over the gluteal muscles or within them (intramuscular placement). Most buttock surgery specialists are strong proponents of intramuscular placement, so thatâs probably what your surgeon will recommend. âButtock implants should really be placed within the gluteus muscles,â says Dr. Stanton. âIf theyâre placed on top, thereâs a risk of complications like unnatural contour and visibility, sagging over time, the implant flipping over, thinning out of the fat and skin layers, and a greatly increased incidence of capsular contracture,â hardened scar tissue around the implant. Intramuscular placement also ensures that the implants arenât deep enough to risk damaging the sciatic nerve, which runs through the buttocks.Â
However, placement alone won't be enough to reduce your risks if your implants are too big. âIt is important to understand that while an implant in the intramuscular position may decrease the risks of complications, this is dependent on an appropriately sized implant placed in this position. An implant that is too large for the body can create an issue, regardless of the placement position,â says Dr. Franco.
This surgical procedure is done under general anesthesia, so youâll be totally asleep. Once youâre unconscious, your buttock augmentation will go as follows:
Youâll be groggy when you wake up, so be sure to have a responsible adult there to take you home and spend at least the first night with you. âOften, a private duty nurse can be arranged by the surgeonâs office, for those who do not have another caretaker,â says Dr. Stanton.
RealSelf Tip: Smoking (even vaping) can increase complications during surgery and slow the healing process during recovery. If you smoke, your doctor may ask you to go cold turkey at least two weeks (and often longer) prior to surgery, and for four weeks afterward.
The typical recovery time after butt implant surgery is 2 weeks, but âmany surgeons will have patients avoid sitting for 2 to 6 weeks after the surgery, to help the incisions heal as well as possible,â notes Dr. Franco. You can expect some bruising, swelling, and pain during this time, and the discomfort may spread from your glutes to your thighs. Plan to take at least 2 weeks off from work and normal activities to rest and heal.
âIt feels like deep muscle soreness after a long workout,â says Atlanta board-certified plastic surgeon Dr. Stanley Okoro.
The first two weeks are the most uncomfortable, though most patients are able to manage the pain with over-the-counter options after a few days of prescription pain medications.
 âTenderness, burning, or other sensations at the surgical or incision site are typical,â says Dr. Jon Ver Halen, a board-certified plastic surgeon in Colleyville, Texas. âI would be concerned if the pain worsens, the skin becomes inflamed [if itâs red or warm to the touch], or you start running a temperature.â In that case, you may need antibiotics to combat an infection.Â
Your provider should give you detailed recovery instructions, which may include tips like these.
According to Dr. Stanton, âthings typically get better each and every week up until six months, even a full year, until [theyâre] completely softened.â
Your butt will look rounder immediately, but the middle and lower third may not look too perky right away.Â
Your new shape will slowly expand and reveal itself over the next six months as the swelling goes down and the tissues relax over the implants. That's when you'll see your final results.
You will have scars from the surgical incisions, but if theyâve been placed within the butt crack, they will be less conspicuous once youâve healed.
âButtock augmentation with implants is performed with an incision in the gluteal crease [the cleft between your two butt cheeks],â explains Dr. Franco. âThere are two ways that it is commonly performedâwith a single midline incision or with two curved incisions, along each buttock. Both incisions are well-hidden in the crease and covered in underwear or a bikini bottom.âÂ
The two-incision technique has far fewer wound separation complications than the single midline incision, according to Dr. Stanton.
Buttock implants are permanent, but patients may want a secondary surgery in the future to change the shape or size, or to âfreshen their appearance,â notes Dr. Franco.Â
You might also need revision surgery if complications arise. But if your implants are placed properly, you shouldnât have problems with displacement, says Dr. Pat Pazmino, a board-certified plastic surgeon in Miami. âIf done appropriately, your implants shouldnât need to be replaced.â
Appropriately sized implants can look natural and even jiggle, says Dr. Shlomo Widder, a board-certified plastic surgeon in Vienna, Virginia. âThe butt softness depends on the thickness of the skin. On a very thin person, even though the implants are made from ultrasoft silicone, the butt may feel a little tighter, like when you tighten your muscles.âÂ
Size also plays a big role in how natural your results will look. As you go bigger, your implant may become more noticeable, says Dr. Michael Nykiel, a board-certified plastic surgeon in Newport Beach, California. âIt looks less âreal,â and you can feel it.â
It takes six months for buttock implants to settle into their final position and fullness, and a full year for them to completely soften.Â
âI tell patients that in the end, they will feel similar to an Olympian sprinterâs athletic buttocks,â says Dr. Stanton. On the RealSelf website, he says, youâll see videos of patients twerking with buttock implants. âSo yes, they can really âjiggleâ as well.â
At first, sitting on your implants can be uncomfortableâlike sitting on a large, hard bubble.
After youâve healed completely and the tissue around the implant has softened, it should become more comfortable and less noticeable. Just like with breast implants, there will be an adjustment period, and youâll get used to the new sensation.
âIf theyâre done correctly, you shouldnât be able to feel the buttock implants when you sit down, after the initial recovery period,â says Dr. Senderoff.Â
âMy patients have said that they get used to the implants, and they just become part of them,â says Dr. Franco. âAfter the initial period of not sitting to allow the implants to heal, they can sit and do activities as they did before the surgery.â
Implant placement is an important factor in how natural they feel. âIf done properly, butt implants should not harden. Patients can experience a hardening if itâs placed on top of the muscle,â says Dr. Pazmino. âSuperficial butt implants can cause a significant reaction in your body, which creates a tight scar contracture around the implant that may alter the appearance and cause discomfort. If this occurs, the implants must be removed and placed into a deeper, safer area within the buttocks.â
Buttock implants are considered safer than BBL surgery, but they still come with risks.Â
A 2013 study in the journal Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery showed that out of 2,226 butt implant patients, 38% experienced some form of complication. By 2016, that number had dropped to 21.6%, mainly due to doctors gaining more experience in the procedure.Â
About 5% of the patients in the 2016 study required implant revision surgery, while implant removal was performed in 3.8% of cases due to infection, pain, or seroma.Â
Thatâs higher than usual for cosmetic surgeryâbut if youâre choosing between butt implants and a Brazilian butt lift, the risks from implants are far less serious.Â
Another factor to consider: reported complications may be higher after revision surgery, especially if the implants are replaced. A 2017 study of revision buttock implantation surgery patients cites a complication rate of 17.8%, noting that âcomplications were highest after unilateral implant replacement.â
Most butt implant complications can be traced back to inexperienced surgeons or poor techniques. By choosing a board-certified plastic surgeon with years of experience performing buttock implant surgery (and a track record of positive patient reviews), youâre more likely to have a safe experience with good results.Â
Dr. Stanton says that when the surgery is performed by a reputable specialist who places the implants into an intramuscular pocket, the risk of complications is no higher than that of breast implants. âIn more than 2,000 cases, my personal infection rate is only 0.5%, and the wound-healing complication rate is only 1.5%,â he says.
Related: The 5 Biggest Butt Implant Risks
RealSelf Tip: In 2019, Aesthetics Surgery Journal reported the first known case of gluteal-implant associated anaplastic large cell lymphoma (GIA-ALCL). The patient was treated swiftly, but the cancer was aggressive, and she did not survive.Â
Like similar cases of ALCL related to breast implants that have spurred recalls and implant warning requirements from the FDA, this GIA-ALCL case involved implants with a textured surface.Â
Some experts, however, donât give much credence to the study. âBecause this single research article failed to note the exact implant used in this patientâit [may have been] a textured breast implant and not an actual textured buttock implantâthis can and should be regarded as misinformation until further evidence is revealed,â Dr. Stanton says. In his opinion, âfailing to remove the implant from this patient, examine it, and note its exact nature is a major flaw in this study.â Â
No further reports of GIA-ALCL have been made public, but you may still want to talk with your plastic surgeon about gluteal implant options that have a very lightly textured or smooth surface, to help reduce your risk.
If youâre on the fence about implants, you may also want to consider one of these buttock enhancement options.
Related: 4 Alternatives to a BBL That Can Give You a Bigger, Perkier Butt
RealSelf Tip: Doctors definitely do not recommend silicone liquid, PMMA, Bio-polymer, acrylic, or hydrogel injections for butt enhancement. Inexperienced or untrained injectors often use industrial-grade silicone (sometimes even in their home, hotel rooms, nail salons, etc.) in a procedure they call butt shots.Â
None of these injections are FDA-approved for body contouring, and they can cause serious, permanent side effects, including tissue death or even patient mortality. For patients with complications, silicone removal is painful, wildly expensive, and sometimes impossible. See the FDAâs safety warning.
Updated May 22, 2023