Health
Buttock augmentation surgery found safe
New York, March 3
Women eyeing that perfect
derriere through plastic surgery for "butt augmentation" may find
comfort in a new research that found certain side effects of the
procedure to be potentially reversible.
Gluteoplasty or buttock augmentation surgery has become increasingly popular in recent years.
Implant
gluteal augmentation meets the goal of providing a more shapely figure,
with relatively minor, potentially reversible muscle atrophy, said
Fernando Serra and colleagues from the Pedro Ernesto University
Hospital, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
In the study spanning 12
months, the researchers evaluated changes in the gluteus muscle in women
undergoing placement of silicone implants to improve the shape of the
buttocks.
Comparing pre-operative and follow-up CT scans, the researchers found significant muscle atrophy after implant placement.
The
volume of the gluteus muscle was reduced by about six percent, although
there was no associated change in muscle strength, the researchers
noted.
Atrophy may be at least partly related to "intrinsic
compression" of the muscle by the implants. There was evidence that the
women started to regain muscle volume after three months -- possibly
reflecting return to exercise and other activities after recovery from
the implant procedure, they added.
But the procedure led to
improved body shape, with a curvier, more "gynoid" (female) contour. At
follow-up, the women were closer to their desired waist-hip ratio.
"Gluteal augmentation with implants was effective in improving the waist-to-hip ratio," the researchers noted.
The study appeared in the journal Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery.