Buttock Implant Replacements

Q: Dr. Eppley, I am interested in buttock implant replacements. I have had two prior buttock implant surgeries The first was using 500cc subfascial implants which looked abnormal and then there were replaced with 712cc intramuscular implants which also do not look right and give me a lot of pain. What do you recommend for buttock implant replacements?

A: At 712ccs of volume I can assure you that your current buttock implants are in the subfascial location not the intramuscular location. My thoughts are as follows:

1) Stay in the subfascial pocket which is undoubtably where you are now with your 712cc implants.

2) Use a parasagittal incision approach rather than a single midline incision. This will lower the risk of wound separation after surgery and also prevent any communication between the two implants.

3) Round implants do not have the risk of rotation/malposition that anatomic or oblong ones have.

4) Your current 712cc implants have a 15.7 cm base with 6cm projection. That is too narrow an implant diameter for that much projection in a visible subfascial location.

5) New buttock implant considerations include either a) custom made implants with a 16.5 cm base of 500cc volume or b) stock oblong implants of 575cc volume with 20cm length and 15cm width.

6) Ideally you want new implants that can fill or stretch out your existing pockets/capsule so it does not need to be adjusted/reduced with less implant volume as this is an unpredictable and unstable maneuver in the buttock region which has to eventually be exposed to the stresses of sitting.

Dr. Barry Eppley
Indianapolis, Indiana