What Are Cosmetic Hip Implants?
Cosmetic hip implants and thigh implants can be considered, depending on placement in the body, as being one and the same. They are flat, silicone slices that are placed under the skin and substructures that will provide, after healing, a more visible curvaceous outward appearance in the pelvic and lower pelvic areas. They are used to enhance this region of one’s physique.
Who Would Be A Candidate For Cosmetic Hip Implants?
They are commonly used by individuals who are deficient in terms of outward body line, in the areas of the hip, buttock and thigh areas. Many women are born with angular, more muscular athletic lines and some may wish to migrate to a softer curvature. People who have undergone sexual reassignment surgery also are candidates. Asian women, because of their lithe body line sometimes are candidates for cosmetic hip implants.
How Are They Used?
Implants can vary in size from 10″ in length and 6″ in width—but generally vary, depending the surgeon’s skill and experience in doing the final sculpting of the silicone piece—and are beveled usually with no more than a maximum 1″ in thickness. They are inserted through a small 3 cm incision below the hip bone near the Greater Trochanter. They lie just under the fascia of nearby muscle, which conceals them entirely from the outside. Cosmetic hip implants are often inserted along with other aesthetic procedures such as liposuction or breast implants.
What Can I Expect During Recovery?
The Cosmetic Hip Implant procedure is relatively safe compared to more invasive surgeries such as buttock implants or calf implants. Because there are few nerves in the surgical area, and it is relatively free from secondary veins or arteries and the implants themselves are not placed deeply in the tissue, there is not much chance of complications. You will have to wear a compression garment for one month, and no strenuous activity during the same period. You may return to normal walking the next day after surgery and light exercise in two weeks.
What Are Potential Risks & Complications?
As with any surgery, there are some risks, albeit minimum. Some include infection, Seroma development, bleeding, implant extrusion, asymmetry, scarring, muscle damage, nerve damage (lateral femoral cutaneous nerve) and compartment syndrome.