Celebs Like Blac Chyna And Cardi B Are Removing Their Silicone Butt Injections, So I Spoke With A Plastic Surgeon About All Things Butt Enhancements
This week, Blac Chyna shared with her nearly 17 million Instagram followers that she was getting the silicone injections in her butt removed, as well as her breasts reduced.
Chyna, who got the injections when she was just 19, said, "I just want all the ladies out there to know: Do not get silicone shots. You can get sick, you can die, have complications, and all this other crazy stuff."
Chyna said the breast reduction was standard, but getting the silicone shots removed took way longer than expected. "Normally, my procedure would've taken four hours tops. My procedure took over 8-and-a-half hours, y'all. Whatever that silicone mass — whatever that was that was in my buttocks — it kept clogging the machine, and breaking it."
Post-op, Chyna sat down with her doctor, cosmetic surgeon Dr. Matlock, who spoke about the patients who have come in to have the silicone injections removed. "You can see deformities, discoloration of the skin," he said. "You can see thinning of the skin. You can see all kinds of things going on. The best thing is: Just don't do it."
"The last thing you want too is to have those injections, and the last thing you can do is have a major surgery," he added.
Blac Chyna isn't the only celeb to have their butt enhancements removed. A few months ago, Cardi B warned against getting "ass shots." The rapper revealed she got them done four years ago in someone's basement for $800.
She said she's now had them "95% removed."
Singer K. Michelle also revealed to Tamron Hall last year that she had to have "13 surgeries in three years" to have her silicone removed.
K. Michelle said she was having several health problems until seven to eight years later. "One day, when I woke up, my legs gave out. ... I eventually took an MRI, and they saw a foreign substance within my body. You could actually see it on the MRI."
K. Michelle said she's against silicone injections — which, again, are illegal — but she's not against plastic surgery at all. "Just make sure you've done your research. Understand that anything can go wrong. ... Go to the right doctor."
Silicone butt injections — which are much different than a Brazilian butt lift — are not FDA-approved and illegal. They are often done through the black market, in hotel rooms and basements by people who are not medical professionals.
Mariana van Zeller's show Trafficked explores this more fully, if you're interested.
I spoke with Dr. David Shafer of Shafer Clinic Fifth Avenue in New York City. He's a double board-certified plastic surgeon whose specialty is aesthetic and cosmetic surgery. He performs BBLs and body contouring procedures frequently.
"Most often, patients are opting for silicone injections in their buttocks based on cost and lack of knowledge. Silicone injections are not FDA-approved for the buttocks and can lead to some horrendous complications from infection and migration," Dr. Shafer said. "In most cases, patients are going to amateur injectors who are not plastic surgeons and often not even doctors. In most cases as well, the silicone is not medical grade, which leads to even worse problems. It's not unusual to read articles about patients traveling to other countries or getting injections in someone's basement or pop-up 'clinic' in a hotel room. These are automatic red flags."
As for the removal process, Dr. Shafer said it's gonna be really tough — and expensive. "Silicone is not easily removed as it is not self-contained. If the patient is lucky, we can remove it similar to a liposuction procedure through a small incision. However, this essentially just debulks it, but cannot get all of it out. In more severe cases, large incisions need to be made to physically cut the areas out, but this can lead to severe deformities. This is not an inexpensive procedure and often requires multiple visits back to the operating room. If a patient has severe infection, it can also involve an in-hospital stay for IV antibiotics, which can add up quickly."
Dr. Shafer said that there are safer alternatives for people who want to alter the appearance of their butt. "BBL or Brazilian butt lift is not risk-free, but it's safer than silicone injections and is the preferred method. Essentially, the patient's own fat is removed with liposuction from their abdominal wall, flanks, and back and then injected into their buttocks. This gives a more natural appearance as it's the patient's own fat. If people gain weight, however, the fat can get larger. Likewise, if the patient loses weight, the fat can shrink."
There are several risks to getting a BBL.
Patients can also opt for dermal fillers, which can be injected into the butt. "Sculptra, Radiesse, Bellafill, or Voluma — which are synthetic dermal fillers FDA-approved for other areas of the body — can be injected in higher quantities in the buttocks. The only issue for many patients is cost, as dermal fillers can be $800 to $1,600 per syringe. It's not unusual for me to inject 60-80 servings per patient. BBL, however, gives the most dramatic result as most patients have unlimited fat to donate to their buttocks, and we inject anywhere from 500 to 1500 ml per side."
