While breast implants are still very popular in the world of plastic surgery, gluteal augmentations are now gaining momentum. In fact, in South American countries like Brazil, gluteal augmentations are actually more common than breast enhancements. One of the leading experts in this field, Dr. Mark Mofid, says that today approximately 10K to 20K of these operations are performed each year. This is up from the 500 – 1,000 performed annually in the states just five years ago.

Who is an Ideal Candidate for Gluteal Augmentation?

Dr. Mark Mofid sees a variety of patients for this procedure at his practice. In fact, people fly in from all over the country to see him because of his extensive training in this field. They are primarily women, although he does have male patients too.

One of the main reasons that women have this surgery, according to Dr. Mofid, is to recreate a curvy, hourglass figure. Some of them have lost it after childbirth, while others may be well endowed on top, and are simply looking to balance out their shape so that it is more proportionate.

The Difference Between an Augmentation and Fat Grafting Procedure

A gluteal augmentation is different from gluteal fat-grafting, also known as the Brazilian Butt Lift. For an augmentation, Dr. Mark Mofid inserts soft, solid silicone implants into the patient’s gluteal muscles. With a Brazilian butt lift, fat is grafted from another part of the patient’s body and inserted into the buttocks.

The Brazilian butt lift has actually received bad publicity in recent years due to reports of a number of women dying from the procedure. Concerned about this mortality rate and practices surrounding the procedure, Dr. Mofid led a task force to investigate. He discovered that gluteal fat-grafting procedures had the highest mortality rate, upwards of 20 percent more than other procedures. His findings also revealed that fat embolisms were the leading cause of death and non-fatal injuries from these procedures.

Gluteal augmentations have also had their share of controversy. Stories of botched implants and life-threatening incidents frequently surface. That is why Dr. Mofid stresses the importance of using a board certified and highly qualified plastic surgeon for this type of surgery and any other type for that matter.

“I will never overdo it even if patients try to push for larger implants,” he told Plastic Surgery Practice.

For the safety of his patients, Dr. Mofid will only do intramuscular implants that are 330 cc or less.  He says that larger implants are a higher risk for complications. And those that are subfascial implants could separate or lose their position.

In his own practice, Dr. Mofid became frustrated with the implants that were available on the market for his patients. He found that they were more of a one-size-fits-all solution and most were too big for intramuscular placement. Instead of accepting the status quo, Dr. Mark Mofid partnered with Implantech, a gluteal implant manufacturer to develop a new, soft silicone implant that offered a more tapered profile. Even with these new and improved implants, Dr. Mofid still shapes and customizes them in the operating room for each of his patients.

His goal is for his patients’ new implants to look and feel natural. In fact, according to Dr. Mofid, once the implants are in place and the patient has recovered, you cannot tell by touch or sight that there are implants. The patient’s buttocks look and feel natural.  Dr. Mark Mofid says that to achieve this look, the implants must be precisely placed in the right position.

Conclusion

The key to a successful plastic surgery is to find a highly qualified physician who is board certified and has experience performing the procedure that you are interested in.

Source: http://www.gcreport.com/