Over the years, social media has changed the look of what is considered sexy. Years ago, the trend was to be as thin as possible with large, rounded breasts. However, curve is the word these days. In fact, having a bodacious booty has quickly become a top trend. Celebrities such as Jennifer Lopez, Nicki Minaj and the Kardashians are on social media as often as possible to flaunt their backside curves. So, how do they get that junk in their trunks?
The two butt enhancement procedures approved by the FDA are:
- The Brazilian Butt Lift which uses liposuction to remove fat from other parts of the patient’s body. The fat is then injected into the buttock.
- Butt implants involve an incision being made and a silicone implant being inserted into the cheeks.
To appreciate the current booty enhancing options, it’s important to look at the history of butt implants. Dr. R.J. Bartels is credited as the first doctor to successfully plump the bottom around 1969. However, these implants were not impressive. Since breast implants had been around since the 1890s, Dr. Bartels and his team figured they would use the original “Cronin-Gerow” silicone breast implant for butt enhancement. However, since the shape of this implant was originally inspired by a standard medical blood bag, the discovery was made that implants for breasts do not work well for the butt.
Mexican doctor Mario Gonzalez-Ulloa made his mark on butt implants, a year later when he attempted to use a shape-defining prosthetic to lift the entire butt. Although this was an improvement, the placement of the implant was not stable. The doctor inserted the prosthetic between the skin and gluteus maximus muscle which permitted the device to easily shift. The stability of the implant was so bad that patients could actually rearrange their bottom if they tried hard enough.
In 1984, an Argentinean surgeon named Jose Robles took butt implants a step further. He placed the implant between the outermost and middle layers of the muscle. It wasn’t an easy process but there were fewer complications involved. However, this technique did not inspire a lot of people to get implants.
Sir Mix-A-Lot released “Baby Got Back” in 1992 and, within the same year, the first dermal-fat grafts were written up in scientific journals. Although there were many variations, it all came down to liposuction for fat removal from one area which was injected into the buttock in order to enhance the shape and size. However, fat injections could only get a patient so far. Therefore, when pop stars like Jennifer Lopez arrived a few years later with their enhanced and well-rounded backsides, butt implants began to soar.
In 2006, Dr. Rafael Vergara was credited with a new technique called intramuscular implant. This technique allowed the implant to be placed closer to the surface but with more stability than earlier procedures. The stability allowed for bigger implants than before. This technique was a hit in Mexico and South America due to their desire for larger backsides and lower complications. The Brazilian Butt Lift, which originated in South America, has become a very popular enhancement procedure over the past few years. In fact, nearly 10,000 Americans underwent this technique to gain a bigger butt last year. That’s a lot of butt surgeries and the number looks to grow this year. Even though the history of the procedure is interesting, who knows what the future holds for butt implants?
– SP