Will I need surgery to fix glute after bad fall? (photo)

Thank you for sharing all these details. I completely understand your concern—fall injuries like this can leave both physical and emotional marks, especially when the tissue looks uneven after healing.

-- A hematoma is a collection of blood outside the blood vessels. After the initial bruising and swelling resolve, it can sometimes leave an indentation because the fat and connective tissue underneath have been disrupted.
-- Healing timelines vary. While your doctor mentioned up to three months, some indentations persist longer, and in some cases, the tissue may not fully “fill in” on its own.

About treatment options:
1) Surgery / cosmetic procedures: If the indentation is bothersome or affecting the way your glute looks, plastic or cosmetic surgery is often the most reliable way to restore contour.
- Options may include fat grafting (autologous fat transfer) or other soft tissue procedures to fill the dent.
- While surgery is not always necessary, it is generally the only method that can reliably correct a persistent indentation caused by tissue loss from a hematoma.

2) Conservative approaches:
- Massage therapy or acupuncture may help with comfort, circulation, and tissue flexibility, but they cannot fully restore tissue lost from a hematoma.
- Observation is reasonable if there’s no worsening—no new pain, swelling, redness, or warmth.


Bottom line: Some degree of indentation may persist even after months of natural healing. If it continues to bother you cosmetically, consulting a plastic surgeon is the most effective way to correct it. Conservative measures can help with comfort but are unlikely to fully resolve the dent. Check out the supporting link with this answer!

It looks like you fell on a linear object causing trauma and fat necrosis resulting in the skin scarring and healing to the underlying muscle. This will be challenging to completely fix. An initial round of fat grafting may help soften the dent as a first treatment. Ultimately, the linear line of scarred skin may need to be excised, but that would result in a scar on your buttocks. Careful consideration will be needed with your surgeon will be needed to establish expectations. Thank you for sharing.

Dear summerlovering,

it is hard to tell for sure without an examination. Based on your photos, it looks like you would need a surgery in order to improve the shape of your buttock. If you are considering surgery, I would suggest you consult a board-certified plastic surgeon. Only after a thorough examination, you will get more information and recommendations.

Daniel Barrett, MD
Certified, American Board of Plastic Surgery
Member, American Society of Plastic Surgery
Member, American Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery