Three Butt Injection Disasters

While large breasts used to be considered a woman's most feminine feature, it seems that recently a voluptuous derriere has claimed the spotlight. As a consequence, more and more women are seeking to accentuate their derriere through procedures such as the Brazilian butt lift and butt implants.

While these procedures might be safe when performed by a board-certified plastic surgeon in a hospital or outpatient surgical setting, they can be extremely dangerous when done by a dubious practitioner in an unaccredited office. In the worst case, such procedures can prove fatal. Read on to learn about three recent butt injection procedures that caused grief and horror instead of beauty and happiness.

2009: Death of a Beauty Queen in the Name of a Firmer Behind

A former Miss Argentina was a successful model, the owner of her own modeling school, and the mother of seven-year-old twins. At age 38, she was still receiving numerous modeling offers. Unfortunately, even this successful woman was not immune to Argentina's obsession with the body beautiful and love for plastic surgery. She booked herself for a buttock lift at a prominent cosmetic surgery clinic in Buenos Aires. She though the procedure was going to be very simple, as she was supposed to receive only injections.

However, after being injected with polimetilmetacrilate, she developed respiratory problems, was rushed to a hospital, and soon died of a pulmonary embolism. While the precise cause of her death is unknown, several Argentinean surgeons have suggested that perhaps the injected substance was improperly injected into the capillaries. Once in the bloodstream, it traveled to the lungs and caused the fatal embolism.

2009: Mexican Rock Star's Near Death Experience

A prominent musician was enjoying popularity and fame as one of Mexico's most successful female rock stars when she decided to improve her look by receiving a liquid butt lift. She booked herself into a cosmetic surgery clinic, where she received injections to her buttocks. Soon after, she developed severe respiratory complications and was rushed to a hospital. The doctors managed to save her life after removing all of the foreign substance from her body.

2011: Death of a British Woman in a Philadelphia Hotel Room

In February 2011, a dancer and aspiring rapper from the U.K. died after traveling to Philadelphia for a butt lift procedure. The treatment was performed in a hotel room near the Philadelphia International Airport. Preliminary investigation indicates that the person who performed the injections was not a physician, and the substance that was used was not an FDA-approved injectable. Instead, it appears that the injected substance was an illicit chemical, such as non-medical-grade liquid silicone, petroleum jelly or hydrogel. The women was only 20 years old and had no health problems prior to receiving the injections.

Use Caution and Good Judgment

As these stories indicate, butt injections can be fatal when performed by unlicensed practitioners using unsafe substances. However, not all buttock augmentation procedures end badly. In fact, when performed by a reputable plastic surgeon in a hospital or surgical center, the insertion of soft, solid butt implants can deliver beautiful, long-lasting results, as can fat grafting to the buttocks. If you desire to undergo these procedures, use plenty of caution and your best judgment to select a trustworthy surgeon who will use only FDA-approved techniques and materials. This is the same approach you should employ when contemplating any other cosmetic surgery procedure, including a breast augmentation, liposuction, body lift or tummy tuck procedure.

Brazil Butt Lift BUM BUM Review

BUM BUM from Beachbody's Brazil Butt Lift like all the other workouts in the program is FUN. Fun but hard. BUM BUM is slang for butt in Brazil. In BUM BUM you are working your butt, hips and thighs. As with all Brazil Butt Lift workouts the production is of the highest quality. I can't get enough of the beaches while it's snowing outside and I can see the snow falling as I do my workout. What a mood lifter!

Leandro Carvalho starts off BUM BUM with a warm up that feels part of the workout, not separate like most workouts. It has a real dancers feel to it but is presented in a different manner which makes it feel fresh and new. Plies anyone? Plies are a great way of warming up the body and working it at the same time. As with all his workouts he starts with a move and adds on. In the warm up Plies lead to Plies with heels up, this is great for giving the calves some attention too. Keeping with the dancers theme he moves on to Pass kickbacks. Every element of the warm up is designed to not only warm up your muscles for the workout but to also work the BUM BUM. In fact I have a hard time distinguishing when the warm up ends and when the workout begins.

In BUM BUM Leandro introduces us to more of his unique signature moves such as the Ipanema Walk. In Ipanema Walk you begin by moving your right leg back into a lunge with arms up, right bent at 90 degrees in front of you and left arm out to the side for balance. From there you push off with your right foot while keeping your knees bent and lean your body forward slightly. Swing your right leg to the front and hold with your knee still bent, moving your arms so that the left is in bent in front of you and the right arm out to the side. Step your right foot down, count a beat and place down. Then bend into a lunge. Now do all that backwards to the starting point. Switch and doing on our other side. If you are like me you will probably need a chair, a wall, or in my case, a cat condo to place one hand on for balance. This is fine. Do this until you have mastered the Ipanema Walk.

A nice part of the package are the travel and tips cards. I found these handy when trying to master the Ipanema Walk.

One of the fun aspects of all the Brazil Butt Lift workouts is the way that Leandro will add on a shoulder move where you don't expect one to be. This serves a purpose but also adds an element of fun and sexiness to the workouts. In BUM BUM you start with a squat and then add a shoulder roll one shoulder at a time. This helps to open the chest area and also adds some fun and innocent sexiness to the workout. This makes you feel a bit girl and not like a stripper. It's all in good fun. Leandro has a great capacity for adding his moves together in segments that always include compound moves and core work. Another benefit is the mental aspects of having to concentrate so you don't fall over. At least it is for me.

Brazil Butt Lift – Day 16

I haven’t had any gluten today and I’m loving how flat my stomach is.

I’ve been thinking about changing my diet as I’m not too thrilled with my Brazil Butt Lift results as far as my stomach is concerned. Brazil Butt Lift I eat a fair amount of vegetables but they’re often in a sandwich so I get a bunch of bread and cheese with them.  My boyfriend Heath just did a juice fast and is now interested in the Paleo diet (which Emily and Erica over at Sleep, Eat, Gym, Repeat! also talk about) and I’m intrigued.  (I also read yesterday that Miley Cyrus is gluten- and lactose-intolerant, and for whatever reason, this adds to my intrigue about the diet.)

As I’m about half way done with the 4 week Brazil Butt Lift program, I entertained the idea of cutting out (or at least limiting) my gluten intake, but yesterday I ate more of it than I usually do, so that idea went out the window pretty fast.  When it comes to putting strict limitations like “absolutely no bread” on my diet, its scary, and so I never do that.  Instead I prefer the words “reduce” or “limit”.  This may be cheating and this may be only stunting my progress in the long run, but hey, its better than nothing.  I don’t tend to like extremes anyway.  I think making a conscious effort to improve oneself is good enough, and as long as you’re self-aware, then you’re doing well for yourself.

And today I happened to not have breakfast (something I haven’t dared do since my experience on the first day of Brazil Butt Lift – and by the way, I was totally fine today) and so that cut out the toast or cereal I would have had.  Then for lunch I chose to have a salad instead of a sandwich.Brazil Butt Lift  I haven’t yet had dinner so we’ll see if I have gluten then or not.  And tomorrow, I will likely have a sandwich.  I’m not going to make any claims or promises on here because it will only make me feel bad about myself when I eat gluten again.