Buttock implants

Procedure steps

• Dr. Petit will begin with questioning your medical and surgical histories, your weight and your size, as well as your tobacco consumption.
• He will listen to you in order to understand your motivations and your requests relating to the volume and the shape of the buttocks.
• He will carry out a clinical examination of your buttocks and of your silhouette in order to evaluate your reserves of fat and the feasibility of a buttock lipofilling. If this one is not possible, the buttock augmentation will involve implants. Buttock implants are made of a thick silicone shell, and filled with a cohesive silicone gel (specially made for the buttocks). Dr. Petit will advise you on the choice of the implant (anatomical, round or biconvex), and the volume adapted specifically to your anatomy and to your request.
• Dr. Petit will provide information on the scar positioning, treatment process and procedure limits, post-operative recoveries as well as main risks, so as to make an informed decision.

Procedure limits

• The buttock augmentation by implant does not act upon the contour of the buttocks. The enhancement of the contour will involve specific surgeries: liposuction of the hips and/or of the jodhpur thighs, lipofilling of the hollow of the lateral side of the buttocks.

Good candidates for a buttock augmentation by implants are those

• Having flat buttocks or insufficiently curved for them.
• Wishing to increase the volume of their buttocks.
• Not having sufficient reserves of fat for a buttock lipofilling.
• Accepting the scarring price.
• And having understood the procedure limits.

Pre-operative instructions

General pre-operative instructions relating to aesthetic surgery

• Smoking cessation 1 month before and after the procedure.
• Discontinuation of medicines which increase bleeding 10 days before and after the procedure: aspirin, anti-inflammatory and anticoagulant medicines, vitamin E.

Specific pre-operative instructions relating to the silhouette surgery

• To be at your stable and ideal weight for 6 months at least.
• Discontinuation of oral contraception 1 month before the procedure in order to decrease the risk of thrombo-embolism (phlebitis and pulmonary embolism).
• Purchase of a compression garment.

What to expect after surgery

Pains are variable according to the patients. Generally, pains can be moderate or significant, and are well soothed by analgesics.

Ecchymosis (bruises) are classical and subside within 2 to 3 weeks after the operation. An oedema (swelling) is constant and of variable duration, gradually subsiding within a few months.

The shower with a soft soap is possible the day following the procedure. Daily care can be done by a close relative or a nurse over 15 days.

Three preventive measures against phlebitis are established after the procedure: the affected leg elevated as well as the walk, the wearing of compression stockings and the daily injection of an anticoagulant (medicines which thin the blood) over 15 days.

Patients are advised not to sit down and to lie down on their backs over fifteen days. They are advised to favour the standing position and to lie down on their stomachs.

The wearing of a panty is recommended during 1 month in order to reduce the post-operative œdema and fostering a good retraction of the skin in the treated areas.
Dr. Petit will also suggest massage sessions (lymphatic drainage) accelerating the regression of the post-operative œdema.

The resumption of daily activities is possible the day following the procedure. Discomfort during walking is common over the first week.

The resumption of professional activities is possible 15 days following the procedure.

The resumption of sports activities can be done within 6 weeks following the operation.

Procedure risks

The complications of a buttock augmentation by implant are weak.

Mains risks are

• A hematoma: rare complication which may involve a secondary surgical revision to drain it.
• A disunity of the gluteal scar.
• An infection: rare complication involving the removal of the implant.
• Transitory problems relating to cutaneous sensitivity of the buttocks.
• Occurrence of a shell (or hardening of the implant): rare complication.
• Visibility and palpability of the implants, less frequent given their intramuscular position.
• A rupture of the implant involving its replacement.
• A reversal of the implant: possible complication with round and anatomical implants.
• Too firm buttocks, with poor tolerance of the implants.

Long-term result

The final result of a buttock augmentation by implant is obtained between 3 to 6 months after the procedure, when the post-operative oedema has disappeared.

In general, the gluteal scar is discrete in the long term. This result is stable and long-lasting.

However, the implants will have to be radiologically checked 10 years post-implantation, in order to assess their integrity, and whether it is necessary to change them.