Would Getting 5cm Thick Hip Implants Be A Good Idea?

Q: Dr. Eppley, Hello, I was just wondering, If I got 5cm custom hip implants in really soft implants would they have a risk of folding in the healing process? Because I was told that the normal 5cm implants may cause erosion of the underlying tissues, meaning I would have to have “really soft” 5cm ones, but they may fold whilst healing. Is this same risk with your implants? I just want a second opinion because I’m either going to get my hips done with you or the other place I’ve contacted 🙂 thank you so much. 

A: At 5 cm hip implant thickness, even the ultrasoft silicone is going to feel very firm/hard. The thicker an ultra soft solid hip implant is, the more firm it will feel. This is just a function of material thickness. While at 1 cm it will feel very squishy, at 5 cms it will be almost as firm as a brick. Because of this issue and others, I would never place a hip implant that was more than 2.5 or 3 cms thick at most. This is just asking for a complication of some type.  Hip implants are unique because they are not in or under muscle but on top of its fascia. This makes for higher rates of potential complications. By a lot of painful experiences i can only pass along this piece of wisdom….’it is far better to have an uncomplicated result that may be only 50% of your aesthetic goal than it is to have achieved 100% of your aesthetic goal with complications’.

Dr. Barry Eppley

Indianapolis, Indiana