Is hydrogel effective for Butt augmentation?

I have recently been seeing alot on the internet about the use of hydrogel for butt augmentation. Is this new technique as effective as the microfat transfer?
-Chonta

Hi Chonta,

Thank you for bringing up this question. There are many ways you can get a Butt augmentation, but like everything in life, each has its own set of advantages and disadvantages. Some procedures are new and experimental, some have stood the test of time. The use of hydrogel for Butt augmentation is a new approach. The technique is possible, but in my professional opinion, impractical for several reasons.

Hydrogels for tissue augmentation are used mostly in the face – for lip augmentations and such. The injections do not last long (up to 18 months) and are pricey. For example, 1cc of hydrogel can cost anywhere from $300-$500. I use 1-2 cc’s for a lip augmentation. A Butt augmentation requires hundreds of cc’s.

To be more precise, I inject 800-1600 cc’s of fat into the buttocks for a Brazilian butt lift! To get a noticeable Buttock augmentation, you need well in excess of 200 cc’s of hydrogel in EACH buttock cheek. That can get pretty expensive at $500 per cc! There are probably cheap “hydrogel” alternatives, but beware of impurities and contaminants. There have been many recent horror stories here in the US from practitioners using “off label” injectables.

Secondly, aside from the expense, the result is not going to be long lasting. Hydrogel will last only about 18 months, whereas butt augmentation with fat injection is permanent.

If somebody is set on having hydrogel injections to the butt, be sure to ask the practitioner several questions: Is he/she certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery? How long does the hydrogel last? (Be suspicious if the answer is that it lasts more than a few months.) Is the hydrogel an FDA approved product?

Finally, think of this:
It’s your own body, why not use your own body’s fat.

Update: Six years after writing this post I wrote another post after seeing so many patients who have suffered terrible damage from hydrogel injections! My position remains the same: Hydrogel injections to the buttocks – Don’t do it!