Are hip & buttock injections safe in long term? Both Renuva and Derma Fillers?

Thank you for your thoughtful and well-informed question. It’s understandable to be cautious when considering body injections, especially in areas like the hips and buttocks.

Here’s a breakdown of the two options you mentioned:

1. Dermal Fillers (e.g., HA Fillers, PMMA, etc.):
Risk Profile: While many dermal fillers are FDA-approved for use in the face, their use in the buttocks is considered off-label and carries more risks.

Potential Complications: Migration, granulomas (lumps), scarring, infection, and vascular compromise are rare but possible, especially if injected incorrectly or in large volumes.

Longevity: Some fillers may last 1–2 years, while others (e.g., PMMA) can be semi-permanent or permanent.

Synthetic Nature: Most dermal fillers are made from synthetic materials (like hyaluronic acid or poly-L-lactic acid), which may be a concern for you based on your preferences.

2. Renuva:
What It Is: Renuva is an off-the-shelf injectable matrix made from donated human adipose (fat) tissue. It acts as a scaffold for your body to grow its own fat over time.

Safety Profile: Renuva is considered to be biocompatible, non-synthetic, and minimally inflammatory. Since it promotes natural fat growth rather than acting as a filler, the long-term risks are generally lower.

Use in Large Areas: While Renuva is promising, it's typically used for small volume correction (face, hands, minor contour irregularities). It may not be suitable or cost-effective for larger volume areas like the buttocks unless used strategically.

Clinical Data: Though generally safe, long-term data is still somewhat limited given its more recent introduction to the market.

Bottom Line:
Dermal fillers can be effective but do carry real but uncommon risks, especially in large areas or with unapproved techniques.

Renuva offers a more natural and lower-risk profile but is best suited for small to moderate volume enhancements.

Since you’ve ruled out fat transfer and implants, Renuva may be worth exploring further with an experienced injector who has used it in body contouring. Your caution is valid, and understanding both the benefits and limitations of each option is key to making an informed choice.

I have unfortunately had many patients come to me after having their high hopes for buttock/hip augmentation crushed by measly Sculptra results or other "fillers" such as Radiesse, Renuva and Juvederm, etc. Other than the fact that these are not FDA approved for buttock/hip injections, here are some critical points of awareness: 1) they all are temporary, lasting 1.5 - 2 years at very most, 2) if done correctly dermal fillers like Sculptra or Renuva are cost prohibitive for 99% of potential buttock/hip augmentation patients. In order to create a significant/noticeable result with a dermal filler, at least 200 mls of active product (not just “total ccs of fluid injected” of which contains mostly saline not Sculptra) must be injected into each buttock cheek for a total of 400 mls. At $1000 per ml, this equates to a minimum price of $400,000.00. Thus if your doctor is recommending to put in ONLY 20 or 40 mls of these fillers you will pay $20,000-$40,000 and get an insignificant miniscule result! (eg. like a “drop in the ocean” effect), 3) Do not let anybody tell you that the product is so special that it's going to magically grow over the following months or years...this just does not happen to any noticeable degree!, 4) dermal fillers, when injected in large quantities, have a relatively high infection rate, guaranteed tendency to migrate away from the original area they were injected into, and almost always stimulate a lot of inflammation with a subsequent and disastrous amount of scar tissue/hardening, and 5) the one very serious complication that can rarely ( less than 1%) happen is "embolism" in which some of the filler gets into the blood stream and travels up into the lungs, heart, and/or brain causing serious problems, including death.

As well, fat transfer to the outer butt and hip dips, especially on lean patients, has a poor survival rate and thus often slighted results.

The only relatively safe, reliable, and permanent option for buttock and hip dip augmentation is with implants.

Hope this all helps you make a better informed decision and saves you a lot of your otherwise hard earned money.

That's a great question Karlee. Some patients don't have enough fat to utilize liposuction and fat grafting to add volume to the buttocks. I personally haven't used Renuva so cannot comment on it specifically. To be completely honest with you, there are no great options for adding a significant amount of volume. I would advise against dermal filler for the buttocks. It costs around 500/mL for hyaluronic acid filler and you will not get a significant result without spending many thousands of dollars. I tell my patients that HA fillers cost more than their weight in gold! For non surgical buttock augmentation I like to use Sculptra (Poly-L-lactic acid), which is technically off label. For most patients it requires 10+ vials, so it is still a large cost. It stimulates collagen in the skin to strengthen and tighten. I would recommend seeking a consultation with a local plastic surgeon who offers many treatment options for buttock augmentation.

Body contouring using fillers is prohibitively expensive.
For most patients it’s simply a waste of money.
Body contouring often requires hundreds of milliliters of volume.
Consider that 1 mL of typical HA filler is over $500. The numbers typically make this not feasible for those who work for a living.
Without including pictures, we can’t begin to make an assessment.
You should make sure you’re not a candidate for fat transfer before giving up on that procedure.
Even subtle fat transfer results can be better than using fillers.
That said, the number of plastic surgeons who approach mastery of this kind of work is in reality quite small.
Best,
Mats Hagstrom MD