Ask a Surgeon - Miscellaneous - Can silicone injected into the hips and buttocks be removed?

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Can silicone injected into the hips and buttocks be removed?

Q:

My wife has hard lumps on her hips and buttock area from silicone injections she received over seven years ago. Can this silicone be removed by a surgeon now?

A:

Silicone injections anywhere can be problematic to deal with. They often form hard and sometimes tender nodules. Currently, the only way to remove them is to surgically excise the area. In your wife's case, this may be an extensive area and leave her with a deformity. The deformity may be able to be corrected by taking fat from one area of her body and transferring it to this specific site. Usually this would require several procedures to correct.

Jeffrey M. Kenkel, M.D., FACS - View Other Answers by this Doctor

Dallas, TX

Practice Website

A:

Free silicone which is injected into the buttocks or other parts of the body can cause problems in the long run.

The silicone injected is not a MEDICAL GRADE SILICONE and can cause many problems.

The body reacts to the silicone by forming hard lumps called GRANULOMAS. Treatment is only surgical by removing the hard lumps, but removing all the silicone is nearly impossible.

Such surgeries may cause deformities and scars that may require further surgeries in the future to repair all the deformities.

Sometimes a dilute injection of cortisone may soften the granulomas and make the surgery easier. In this case the cortisone has to be injected through out the buttock. This is done separately 2-3 times prior to the actual surgery.

It is important to understand that there will be scars on the buttocks and dents and deformities of the buttocks that may require multiple surgeries. The patient is responsible for the cost of all surgeries, cortisone injections, and repair of deformities.

Samir F. Shureih, M.D. - View Other Answers by this Doctor

Baltimore, MD

Practice Website

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