Background: Enhancement of buttock volume with gluteal silicone implants has been performed by surgeons for over 30 years, but no studies have examined complication rates or outcomes of more than single-surgeon experiences. Numerous technical differences in how gluteal augmentation surgery with implants is performed also exist, and to date, surgeon preferences for implant plane, incisional access, implant type, and drain use have not been quantified.
Methods: A 10-question survey was sent to 83 targeted members of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons requesting information about number of cases performed, duration of surgeon experience, implant placement plane and incisional access, implant type, length of typical surgery, use of drains and antibiotic irrigation solution, surgeon satisfaction and surgeon assessment of patient satisfaction, and number of complications experienced.
Results: Nineteen respondents (25 percent response rate) provided data on 2226 patients. Thirteen respondents (68.4 percent) favored the intramuscular plane of dissection over the subfascial plane. Preference for incisional access was nearly equally divided between a single incision in the gluteal cleft (10 respondents) and two incisions separated within the cleft (nine respondents). The total number of complications reported was 848 (38.1 percent).
Conclusions: Gluteal augmentation with silicone implants has gained popularity in the last decade. Despite this, no previous studies have examined multisurgeon experiences with this procedure to determine complication rates or surgeon technical preferences. The authors present data from a survey sent to experienced gluteal augmentation surgeons. Advances in technique and implant options are needed to improve complication rates experienced with this procedure.