Are silicone butt injections safe and how does it work?

Allow me to share with you some information that you may not hear elsewhere. There are only two proven safe and relatively effective methods for Buttock Augmentation and Hip Augmentation: 1) Autologous Fat Transfer (using your own fat, transferring from one area of the body to the other) and 2) Buttock/Hip Implants (semi-solid silicone rubber implants that cannot rupture &/or leak). Both are very good options so what it comes down to, like any surgery, is proper patient selection.Indeed because at least 50+ % of the fat transferred will melt away within a year, most patients are not good candidates because they lack an adequate amount of fat to harvest. Another tip is that if you purposely gain weight (i.e. fat) for the procedure, the fat you lose first as you get back to your baseline weight is that very same fat that was transferred into your buttock...so don't fall victim to this recommendation. Although using your own fat is relatively safe, the one serious complication that can rarely (< 1%) happen is "fat embolism" in which some of the fat gets into the blood stream and travels up into the lungs, heart, and/or brain causing serious problems. This complication is more likely to happen with the larger amount of fat being transferred. This is even more likely to happen when using fillers like PMMA and hyaluronic acids. Also fillers, when injected in large quantities, have a relatively high tendency to migrate away from the original area they were placed and tend to stimulate a lot of inflammation and a subsequent disastrous amount of scar tissue/hardening.Thus buttock/hip implants become a very good, safe, and long term reliable option for most patients seeking buttock augmentation (at least in my practice). I prefer to insert the buttock implants through a 2 inch long incision over the tailbone (concealed within the crevice between the buttock cheeks) and the hip implants through a ~ 1 inch incision just below the beltline above the hip region. The buttock implant should always be placed under or within the gluteus maximus muscle. In this position, the implant is less palpable, less visible, and does not sag or shift/migrate over time unlike implants placed on top of the muscle. Therefore it is extremely important to seek consultation with a board certified plastic surgeon who specializes in this procedure (in fact both implants and fat transfer so that s/he is not bias). And in this case too, at least in my surgical practice, the infection rate is minimized to ~5%. Glad to help.Depending upon the amount of your current fat reserves and their distribution, you may or may not be a reasonable candidate for fat transfer. If you are wanting to utilize the fat to further augment your buttock in addition to implants, then I caution you against this. The reason being that the fat needs to be placed into the buttock muscles for optimal survival, however, this is exactly where the implant needs to reside and thus risks infection and/or death of the fat. Because of this risk, I frequently avoid fat grafting into a buttock that has an implant. Bottom line, I recommend consulting with a board certified plastic surgeon specialist in buttock augmentation (BOTH implants and fat transfer) to determine what option is best for you. Glad to help.

Silicone biopolymers are commonly used in the face and body. They may sometimes cause noticeable symptoms that we gauge using the Karamanoukian Soft Tissue Reaction Grading Scale from I to V. The severity of your complications dictates the interventions needed, ranging from itching and burning to severe necrosis of the soft tissue. Nerve pain and symptomatic swelling is also possible. Insurance may cover your surgery, but that is a discussion that requires you to contact and appeal to your insurance carrier. Options for removal are complex and depend on whether you have the material in your face or body. We reverse BBL with silicone commonly and remove silicone from the lips very commonly. Diffuse silicone in the face is not likely to respond to removal. Filler migration, swelling, and granulomas can cause significant discomfort and cosmetic ramifications. Our office specializes in the use of enzymes and filler reversal techniques without hyaluronidase to help improve the results of botched cosmetic fillers, whether caused by Juvederm, Restylane, or foreign fillers. We can also test for the material to determine the likelihood of silicone granulomas and silicone reaction.

Best,
Dr. Karamanoukian
Realself100 Surgeon

As many people want to enhance their body's appearance, they forget that some of the tissues in there body can be placed in different areas such as the buttocks. The body, like all else has defences to protect its self from ominous changes, so when you inject different substances that are not found in your body system, it is very easy for your body to reject the injection, which will later lead to a bad reaction. My suggestion is to pin point troublesome areas in your body; These could be your arms, legs, back and thighs a long with many others. Once you find some fat that you would like to remove from these areas, you can consider getting the same fat placed back into your bottom. Your fat was already in your body. It is a natural substance that your body is very unlikely to counteract. 

   Those injections should be avoided as they are not considered safe.  Nothing will ever achieve 100% results or be 100% safe, but the BBL in experienced hands comes very close.Kenneth Hughes, MDLos Angeles, CA

Silicon, which has a very bad name as an injectable material, is the course of last resort when one has nothing to transfer, nothing that is acceptable. The complications are sever but  they are being ignored by patients and doctors alike. I have a bad experience with it, so does every respectable surgeon I know. First consider a fat transference then see a board certified plastic surgeon who has done a ton of Brazilian lifts and implants. Then please choose your surgeon and proceedure carefully, all surgeries carry risks so do your homework. And good luck.

I would not recommend silicone buttock injections. I have seen a few patients with this problem and it is a disaster. There skin is all discolored, and I have seen infections. They are difficult to treat.

Buttock injection of any foreign material is not safe, in fact it can be life threatening.Buttock enhancement can be achieved only by fat transfer " Brazilian Butt Lift" or buttock implants.

Silicone injections are simply not a safe option. The Brazilian Butt Lift, or fat transfer to the butt, is a great procedure for a lot of women looking to enhance their backsides.  I perform this surgery multiple times each week in my Atlanta area surgery center.  I use liposuction to create an hourglass shape and harvest fat from unwanted areas and inject this fat into the buttocks to create fullness.  My patients have experienced long-lasting results that look and feel natural.  I also regularly see patients who ask me to correct devastating results of silicone and hydrogel butt shots.  Many of them are deformed and in chronic pain.  Unfortunately, some women who undergo these dangerous procedures even die from complications.  Even if you decide a BBL is not right for you, please do not risk your health and even your life on dangerous butt shots.  Check out Essence magazine's November 2012 issue - there is a heartbreaking story of a woman who suffered disastrous results after having butt injections.