41-year-old female who has successfully undergone buttock augmentation.
Advances in proper buttock implant placement have allowed surgeons to minimize the risk of this procedure. For years, buttock implant augmentation was plagued by a nearly 20% complication of implant infection and extrusion. However, following improvements in surgical procedure protocols for placements of gluteal implants, complications of this buttock augmentation procedure have been minimized.
Optimizing proper buttock implant placement has reduced the risk of complications to less than 5%. The most important advancement has involved the placement of buttock silicone implants within the gluteus muscle, avoiding larger implants, and sealing the buttock implant within the gluteus muscle with several layers of repair.
First, the buttock implant is placed under the superficial muscle fibers such that the muscle lining may be repaired over the implant. This muscle lining, i.e., fascia, is completely sealed following a single insertion site medially along the muscle. Despite the closure of this layer, several additional layers are also repaired to reinforce this closure.
Next, appropriate buttock cheek sizing is critical to avoiding the placement of an overly large implant that is vulnerable to extrusion. If unnecessary tension is placed on the gluteal muscle, complications may arise despite the intramuscular implant placement technique. Accurately measuring the gluteal cheek region remains a mainstay of choosing the appropriately sized implant.
Finally, ensuring no gluteal region skin redundancy and sagging allows one to avoid buttock implant complications. When skin redundancy is generous, the buttock implant may fall below the optimal position because the implant pocket may be too lax. As such, when butt implant surgery is performed, it may be necessary also to perform a simultaneous buttock lift to eliminate free space. Eliminating free space will minimize the risk of buttock implant malposition and unnecessary complications of this cosmetic procedure.
Advantages of a Proper Buttock Implant Placement
The placement of the implant in the muscle provides several advantages. The first includes another physical barrier, thus minimizing the risk of implant extrusion. The second is that when the muscle fascia completely covers the implant, it is less likely to be felt from the outside or the implant edge will become visible.
This is because the implant surface, although rounding over the top, is flat at the bottom; thus, its edge is palpable. This is mostly observed over the lateral edge of the buttocks mound, just medial to the lateral gluteal depression. Finally, implant placement within the muscle minimizes the risk of infection.
This is because the muscle fibers are well vascularized, which means the muscle fibers have excellent blood flow. Excellent blood flow delivers antibodies and white blood cells that police the body and do not allow an infection to take hold. Finally, placing the implants in the superficial rather than deep fibers avoids injury to or direct compression of the sciatic nerve. The sciatic nerve travels through the deep gluteus muscle fibers, providing sensation to the lower leg.
When injured or even compressed, it can cause radiating pain down the leg, making buttock augmentation painful and not desirable. Proper placement in the superficial plane will provide maximum projection and avoid this complication.
Proper buttock implant placement is critical to achieving optimal cosmetic results while avoiding unnecessary complications.
