Dr. Kenneth Hughes performs as much butt surgery for reconstruction as he does for purely cosmetic reasons.  With the advent of the numerous problems following silicone and biopolymer injections to the buttock including death, Dr. Kenneth Hughes is frequently battling these foreign substances to prevent long term problems with skin death, tissue death, fat death, pain, and possible massive infection.

Dr. Kenneth Hughes sees dead fat most commonly that is secondary to Brazilian buttlift procedures or BBL procedures.  However, this also occurs secondary to silicone, hydrogel, and biopolymer injection.  The silicone causes not only direct tissue and vascular damage, but it also creates a long-standing inflammatory state that can perturb a person’s natural immunity.  In addition to the foreign material damaging tissue, the foreign material itself is not sterile.  These two issues set up a situation that always increases the risk for infection.

It is this risk of infection, which usually brings patients in for removal and subsequent butt reconstruction.  Admittedly, some are distressed by pain or the appearance, but is the fear of infection that causes most patients to seek help for removal and reconstruction.

Silicone, biopolymer, and hydrogel cannot be effectively removed by liposuction.  In fact, much of the tissue is abnormal and hard and cannot be removed by liposuction.  Normal fat is less dense and can be removed by vacuum suction or liposuction.  Thus, it is not uncommon for Dr. Hughes to encounter a patient who has had all of the healthy fat removed by liposuction, while leaving behind the inflamed tissue and the foreign material (silicone, hydrogel, etc.)

If the removal is extensive, reconstruction with additional butt fat grafting or butt implant or flap reconstruction may be necessary as well.  The goal is to minimize the damage to the surrounding normal tissue while removing only the foreign material and any abnormal tissue.  This conservative approach and respect for well vascularized tissue reduces the need for reconstruction.

There are several options for butt reconstruction and Dr. Hughes utilizes all of these measures, sometimes in combination.  Patients should seek out a plastic surgeon who is an expert at both silicone, hydrogel, biopolymer, and PMMA removal and an expert at butt reconstruction.