According to the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, last year 2,361 patients underwent buttocks augmentation surgery to achieve bigger, smaller, more shapely, more proportional and more voluptuous rear ends. Buttocks augmentation procedures have nearly quadrupled since 2002 when the ASAPS first began documenting posterior enhancement records. While Dr. Young, chairman of the emerging trends task force of the ASAPS believes that it may be a fleeting trend, many believe that is it here to stay in the world of cosmetic surgery.
Dr. Thomas L. Roberts III, a South Carolina plastic surgeon who specializes in buttocks augmentation commented, “The buttocks used to be something you hid, but now it’s something you show off”. Dr. Roberts explains that of the 300 procedures he has performed on women, he has observed that women typically over 50 seek to enhance their falling bottoms, while younger women tend to want more supple buttocks to balance their larger chests.
Natalie Del Rio, an 18-year-old Miami high school student who underwent buttocks augmentation commented, “I always got compliments for my front but never for my back. Now my mom says I look like a Coca-Cola bottle.”
It wasn’t until the 1990s that an effective method was developed for performing buttocks augmentation. After failing tries with silicon implants and even the use of breast implants for the surgery, a fat-grafting method was developed whereby fat is liposuctioned from the stomach and thighs, purified, and injected slowly into the buttocks.
Adding the fat slowly in droplets allows the fat to establish a new blood supply and adjust better to it’s new location, comments Dr. Roberts. Approximately, 60 to 80 percent of the fat stays where it is injected.
The buttocks augmentation procedure takes approximately six to eight hours to add one to two pounds of fat to each side. Patients with a slender physique are typically asked to gain 10 to 15 pounds prior to the surgery so that there is fat available for the doctor to work with.
The procedure is not however without a substantial recovery period. Patients cannot sit down or lay on their backsides for several weeks following a buttocks augmentation surgery or else they may damage the fat. However, patients do not typically report any frustration with the lengthy recovery, according to Dr. Roberts.
63-year-old buttocks augmentation patient Frances Foster underwent the procedure with Dr. Roberts in 2004. She commented, “Before I had the procedure, I had a nice bust line, but I didn’t have much booty or whatever they call it today. Now it’s rounder and fuller [and] I’m thrilled.”
According to two plastic surgeons, Dr. Ramon Cuenca-Guerra and Dr. Jorge Quezada, the perfect backside has four characteristics: a curvature where the buttocks meet the thighs, a V-shape cleavage-like crest at the top, slight hollows on either side, and two defined dimples on the lower back.
Dr. Mendieta, a Miami plastic surgeon comments, “The prettiest buttocks look like A’s, like upside-down hearts with a wider bottom than the top.”
These perfect posteriors do not come without risks though. Approximately two to three patients of every 100 buttocks augmentations get an infection from the procedure. There have also been reports of tissue necrosis, which is when the fat dies and must be removed from the patients body. Rare cases of blood clots occurring and traveling to the lungs, resulting in respiratory problems and even death, have also been reported.
Most commonly however, mild scaring may occur but should fade with time.
In comparison with other more common invasive plastic surgery procedures, buttocks augmentation is in its formative years. Substantial research has not yet been performed to determine the long-term effects and risks associated with buttocks augmentation.
The cost for this enhancement is typically around $20,000.