Hydrogel for buttocks. Alternatives?

I have unfortunately had many patients come to me after having their high hopes for buttock augmentation crushed by measly Sculptra results. Critical points of awareness are: 1) Sculptra is temporary, it will last 1.5 - 2 years at most, 2) if done correctly dermal fillers like Sculptra are cost prohibitive for 99% of potential buttock augmentation patients. In order to create a significant/noticeable result with a dermal filler, at least 200 mls of product 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 sculpture you will pay $20,000-$40,000 and get an insignificant miniscule result!, 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 doesnt 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 (< 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. 

Hope I at least saved you some money and maybe even your life. 

Hello, and thanks for this very good question. The short answer, at this point, is that there are no good alternatives to your own fat. Hyaluronic acid gels (Restylane, Juvederm etc) are temporary and , at the volumes needed to increase buttock size (2-300 cc's per buttock), the cost would be prohibitive. Other injectables like Sculptra would also be ridiculously expensive and also temporary. Medical grade silicone injections are an absolute "no-no" and potentially dangerous. That leaves your own fat or a solid silicone buttock implant placed within the buttock muscle through an incision vertically between the buttock cheeks. If you have it, fat is always the best option. It is your tissue. It is soft and natural, and, best of all, it is a permanent result. The percentage of fat that survives the suctioning and transfer process can't be completely predicted, but, if done carefully, I estimate over 70% survival. But you have to have some extra fat at the abdomen, waistline, back, or thighs to have a successful procedure. If you simply don't have enough for a meaningful transfer (and consultation with a plastic surgeon experienced in buttock augmentation will determine this), the next best option is the implant. The implant is a firmer feel, and comes with it's own pros and cons, but can be a reasonable option. Gaining weight in order to have enough fat for transfer is also not recommended, because this artificially increases the size of the fat cells, and could make them less likely to survive the transfer process.So at this point, fat injections or a buttock implant are the only real options.I hope this helps!

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.

Currently there are no safe injection to increase buttock size other than fat grafting. The fat that is injected is patient's own body fat that is harvested from all over the body and transferred to the buttocks. This helps contour the body in addition to increasing buttock size to provide more reliable results. 

Fat. Your own fat. Well done, clean, carefully performed transfer of your own fat. Nothing better yet. Find good Board Certified Plastic Surgeon. Don't save money and don't shop for bargain. You can find big problems instead. Just pay right price for good result. If you want to save something - may look for the best Drs. in Mexico, Colombia or  Brazil. 

Best wishes.

Dr. Shakhov