Can You Do Buttock and Hip implants Along With Rib Removal All During The Same Surgery?

Q: Dr. Eppley, I am interested in butt and hip implants, liposuction to the arms, back, abdomen and inner thighs and possibly tummy tuck and rib removal. I would like to set up a in person or phone consultation. I have attached some pictures for your preliminary review and suggestions.

A: Thank you for sending your pictures. There are several ways to approach your body contouring with the following observations:

1) While the fat harvested from the abdomen, flanks, arms and inner thighs is useful for buttock augmentation it is unclear yet as to what your buttock augmentation goals. While it is most likely would not be enough for your buttock augmentation goals (yet to be defined)it it still useful to place around an intramuscular buttock implant if implants should be needed.

2) I do not see a need based on these pictures for a tummy tuck.

3) Rib removal MAY be useful if one is trying to maximize waistline reduction and wants t make every effort to do so.

4) Implants are the most effective strategy for hip augmentation as fat injections almost never work in that area and you don’t have enough to do it anyway…unless you want to invest all the harvested fat towards hip augmentation.

When you put all of these observations together the following is clear:

1) Liposuction of all involved areas is a foundational body contouring procedure for you.

2) The harvested fat can be placed into the buttocks OR the hips but not both.

3) Combining buttock and hip implants with rib removal is a pretty tough combination and is not advised from a recovery standpoint.

4) You can only combine two of three from #3 so you have to prioritize.

5) You could make an argument for liposuction, buttock implants, fat injections to the hips and possibly rib removal.

Buht as your exact goals are to yet clear, these are just some preliminary thoughts to consider.

Dr. Barry Eppley

Indianapolis, Indiana