Fundamentals of Buttock Augmentation

Gluteal augmentation has increased more than 90% over the years, according to the annual statistics of the American Society of Plastic Surgery, ranking 6th in number for all plastic surgery procedures. It is currently performed using implants, autologous fat grafting, hyaluronic acid fillers, autologous tissue flaps, and a combination of these. Implants themselves can be placed in different planes (i.e., the subfascial, intramuscular, and submuscular planes. The subcutaneous plane has been abandoned for displeasing aesthetic results. Although gluteal fat grafting has roughly 1/3 of the complications of placing implants in the buttocks, fat embolism and death have occurred even if extremely infrequently after fat grafting (0.2% of cases). It is therefore imperative to have all the knowledge necessary to successfully operate on these cases and avoid any complications.