Hip implant results? (Photos)

Question

Hello. I have "hip dips" and small hips. I would like to improve both of these. Would a result similar to the altered image be realistic? Thank you.

Ryan A. Stanton, MD · Answer

Allow me to answer your question as best i can based upon your photos. However, please keep in mind that an in-person consultation with physical exam is first necessary before any legitimate evaluation or final surgical recommendations are made.Although I encourage every patient to workout and live a healthy lifestyle, curvaceous hips is most often the result of the right genetics for the skeletal framework and fat deposits in the hip area. Take a look at some professional women bodybuilders and notice how they too have a depression in their outer buttock - because they are ultralean, not because they don't have well developed gluteus medius muscles.  In other words, unless you are genetically blessed with "hour-glass" hips, your only option for permanent hip augmentation may just be hip implants. Please read on for more surgical details:
Often buttock implants provide the added curve to the "hips" that most patients are looking for. If not then actual hip implants can be placed either at the same time or instead of buttock implants. Unlike buttock implants, which should always be placed under/within the gluteus maximus muscle, hip implants are placed under just the fascia because no significant muscle exists in this region. However, because they are much smaller and lighter, their likelihood of migration is relatively low. 
In general I consider hip implants to be quite safe. Like buttock implants, they are made of soft semisolid silicone rubber. They cannot ruptured or leak and, therefore, can be left in place forever (unlike  breast implants that require replacement approximately every 10 years). In my experience the infection rate and incidence of seroma have been only ~1% each.
Unfortunately fat grafting to the hip area is frequently met with poor success because, again, there is no muscle there to place the fat into and thus is does not survive. Another thing is, if you are asked to purposely gain weight (i.e. fat) for the procedure, the fat you lose first as you get back to your baseline weight after surgery is that very same fat that was transferred into your buttock/hip...so don't fall victim to this recommendation.  Glad to be of help.

Larry S. Nichter, MD, MS, FACS · Answer

It is very difficult to determine the exact size and shape implant you will require to best match your ideal butt image without an examination by a board certified plastic surgeon. Not just any board certified plastic surgeon, but one with many years of frequently performing breast augmentation surgery including different approaches, techniques and implant choices. This is because several measurements not to mention your breast characteristics are needed to determine the optimal implant size to obtain your goals. Without knowing these dimensions it would be difficult to make this determination. For example, the existing base width of your buttock will determine, in many cases, the maximal volume per implant profile that you can accommodate. Liposuction of your lower back and fat transfer is also helpful as an adjunct to implants. Using “want to be” photos however are useful if simply provided to the surgeon.

Daniel Barrett, MD · Answer

Dear 11181998,an in-person examination would be required to get the correct measurements and to show you predicted results of your surgery. You might be a candidate for implants or fat transfer. I would suggest you to consult a board-certified plastic surgeon.Daniel Barrett, MD, MHA, MS 
Certified, American Board of Plastic Surgery 
Member, Am. Society of Plastic Surgery

Hip implant results? (Photos)

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