Can Liposuction Fix a Glute Injury from a Fall?

asked 3 years ago by TamaraS in Iowa
Latest answer by Steven Wallach, MD
Question viewed 1,676 times
Tags: deformity, indentation, injury

I had a nasty fall while rollerblading a few years ago and fell quite hard on my butt. A deep bruise appeared and swelling ocurred right away. After about a month, I noticed that a pretty large bump (approx.1" wide x 2" long) wasn't going away, but had/have no pain.

I consulted a doctor who thought it may just be a very deep hematoma and suggested I return if it didn't get any better after a 3-6 months. After 6 months, I consulted a plastic surgeon and had an ultrasound done. No liquid was detected in or behind the bulge. His theory was that I had broken the sheet around the muscle, and that it was the muscle bulging out. He said he could try to "fix" it, but it may leave an indent instead and look worse than it already does.

I then went for a second opinion and was told by another plastic surgeon that he may be able to "fix" it with Liposuction. Howevern, he didn't order an MRI or CT. We already know there is no liquid involved, but it could be an air pocket, muscle, or scar tissue. Can Lipo help resolve this?

11 answers to Can Liposuction Fix a Glute Injury from a Fall?

Buttock deformity

This is a tough one to answer without evaluating you. Fixing the muscle fascia over the muscle in the buttocks is difficult to fix.

Steven Wallach, MD
Manhattan Plastic Surgeon

Recontouring the butt with liposuction and fat grafting

Liposuction is a safe, popular, and effective way to contour the body. Treating the area of the butt end abdomen is one of the most common applications for liposuction. In our practice, we commonly perform liposuction to the abdomen, hips, lower back and waist. This will improve the appearance all-around the butt itself. Many patients then received the fat grafting of the fat that we collected from the liposuction to the area of the butt. This can create a beautiful round contour. In... more

B. Pat Pazmino, MD
Miami Plastic Surgeon

www.miamiaesthetic.com

No Diagnosis = No Surgery

Do NOT have any surgery without an accurate diagnosis. Doing surgery - ANY surgery - without first KNOWING exactly what we are operating on is as silly as picking the instruments before knowing the job you are asked to do. An Ultrasound will tell you the size of the process and if it is solid or liquid. It will NOT give you any other useful information. A MRI would be a lot more accurate and informative. FYI - the scenario you describe is commonly associated with crush damage to the buttock... more

Peter A. Aldea, MD
Memphis Plastic Surgeon

MRI will tell if liposuction helpful for lump.

Hi. I am skeptical that liposuction will help your bulge. First, you need a definitive diagnosis. Then, possibly a combination of liposuction and fat transfer may help.

George J. Beraka, MD
Manhattan Plastic Surgeon

Consider MRI

If your MRI shows a benign process, then you quite likely will end up needing to consider liposuction to remove the fullness. The fill with your own fat would only be advised if the liposuction results in a dent or if you already have such irregularities from the injury itself. Of course, if the problem isn't really that significant, I'd still consider the MRI to make sure that something more sinister isn't going on, and then you could simply chose to leave things alone. Good luck,... more

Brian K. Brzowski, MD
Salt Lake City Plastic Surgeon

It depends on what the lump actually is

I’m concerned that liposuction could make it worse if it is a muscle that is bulging out. If you had a lipoma, which is a benign fatty tumor that can occur after trauma, then that could respond to liposuction. An imaging scan would be a great idea!

Ronald Shelton, MD
Manhattan Dermatologist

Get an MRI

Tamara, Before you have any surgery, it is important that you have an MRI to look specifically at the lump. While you have a plausible association with the previous fall, it is important that you make sure there is nothing more serious occurring. Additionally, since this is an atypical case, you should define the anatomy with the imaging studies before doing any surgery.

David Shafer, MD
New York Plastic Surgeon

Yes, I have done this

I would recommend that you get a CT or MRI to determine the exact anatomy of your problem but I have seen 3 patients who sounded like you and in whom a nice improvement was possible with liposuction plus some fat grafting if needed.

Richard P. Rand, MD, FACS
Seattle Plastic Surgeon

Liposuction would help if it is just soft tissue/scar tissue

An MRI would be the definitive way to answer the question as to what is the cause of the bulge. If it is just a case of soft tissue/scar tissue accumulation, then liposuction would help. If there is a tear in the fascia over the muscle, resulting in a hernia, this also can be repaired. My guess without an examination is that it is soft tissue swelling/scar tissue and would benefit from ultrasonic liposuction.

Robert M. Jensen, MD
Medford Plastic Surgeon

Possible fix with lipo and fat graft

It is impossible to know with examining you personally, but i have seen a few cases like yours and the problem was that the bruise resulted in loss of the fat in the area of injury. Basically, the fat in that area died and left a dent. Liposuction can help by smoothing out the contuors around the dent, but it may also need to be filled in which can be done by grafting some of the fat removed with lipo into the area where it is missing.

Richard Baxter, MD
Seattle Plastic Surgeon

Liposuction will offer cosmetic correction but not solve potential underlying issues

One approach is to accurately diagnose the cause and fix it. If it is a mass of scar tissue, a cyst, or a fluid-filled pocket, then excise or drain it and then deal with the cosmetic appearance after you have "treated" the problem. If it is a bulging muscle, then reposition it. The other approach is to not worry about what is causing it if it is not a disease process or dangerous problem and just make it look better, in which case removing fat may smooth out the contour... more