Buttock Lifting with Polypropylene Strips.

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the results of gluteal suspension with polypropylene strips.

PATIENTS AND METHODS: Ninety healthy female patients between the ages of 20 and 50 years (mean, 26 years), who wished to remodel their buttocks from December 2004 to February 2013 were studied retrospectively. All 90 patients were treated with 2 strips of polypropylene on each buttock using the following procedures: 27 (30 %) patients were suspended with polypropylene strips; 63 (70 %) patients were treated with tumescent liposuction in the sacral "V", lower back, supragluteal regions, and flanks to improve buttocks contour (aspirated volume of fat from 350 to 800 cc); 16 (18 %) patients underwent fat grafting in the subcutaneous and intramuscular layers (up to 300 cc in each buttock to increase volume); 5 (6 %) patients received implants to increase volume; and 4 (4.4 %) patients underwent removal and relocation of intramuscular gluteal implants to improve esthetics.

RESULTS: Over an 8-year period, 90 female patients underwent gluteal suspension surgeries. Good esthetic results without complications were obtained in 75 of 90 (84 %) cases. Complications occurred in 15 of 90 (16.6 %) patients, including strip removal due to postoperative pain in 1 (1.1 %) patient, and seroma in both subgluteal sulci in 3 (3.3 %) patients.

CONCLUSION: The results of this study performed in 90 patients over 8 years showed that the suspension with polypropylene strips performed as a single procedure or in combination with other cosmetic methods helps to enhance and lift ptosed gluteal and paragluteal areas.

LEVEL OF EVIDENCE IV: This journal requires that the authors assign a level of evidence to each article. For a full description of these Evidence-Based Medicine ratings, please refer to the Table of Contents or the online Instructions to Authors www.springer.com/00266.