A women from Newmarket, Ontario pleaded guilty last week to eight counts of aggravated assault after giving clients illegal buttock injections.
Marilyn Reid, 48, advertised botulinum toxin injections online, as well as lip, buttock and muscle augmentation with a substance she claimed was polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA). This substance is not currently approved in Canada or the UK for surgical or non-surgical cosmetic procedures, but is commonly used as a bone cement and polymer for orthopaedic surgery.
She injected nine women from Toronto and Aurora over a period of 14 months, meeting them in hotels and at their homes and charging up to $7200.
Reid, who claimed to be a certified plastic surgeon, has never been a registered doctor.
Police became aware of Reid’s website when one of Reid’s clients became seriously ill with an infection. The 28-year-old had to be transported by air ambulance to hospital where she underwent surgery to have the substance removed.
According to the woman, who has yet to be identified due to a publication ban, Reid provided no information about possible side effects, and used a device that resembled a caulking gun to administer the procedure.
The substance removed from the patient’s buttocks, upon analysis, was found to be silicone oil, a substance primarily used as an industrial lubricant. It is also one of the main ingredients in Silly Putty.
Reid is due to appear in court again on the 27th of February and faces up to 9 years in prison.
Dangerous Trend for Unregulated Buttock Enhancement
This incident is illustrative of a growing number of women getting cosmetic surgery to enhance their buttocks.
However, as gluteoplasty is an expensive surgical procedure that involves either the placement of a gluteal implant, liposculpture or body contouring, many women are resorting to cheap, unregulated and life-threatening non-surgical alternatives.
These injectables can cause severe pain due to infection and leave the buttocks with severe permanent scarring and in need of corrective surgery.
Dr Alberto Gallerani, a certified plastic surgeon from Miami, Florida, has treated hundreds of women and men who have gone to him for corrective surgery after botched procedures. He has removed numerous substances from patients’ buttocks, including olive oil and super glue.
When speaking to the BBC about this dangerous trend, Dr Gallerani said:
“In many cases, the symptoms can take several years to appear. What many of the people doing this don’t realise is that they’re putting a ticking time bomb in their body.”
Save Face
As the popularity of larger buttocks rises thanks to celebrities such as Kim Kardashian, Nicki Minaj and Kelly Brook, it becomes increasingly important to emphasise the dangers of unregulated buttock augmentation.
When administered properly, buttock augmentation involves the injection of the behind with a considerable amount of fat taken from another part of the body (usually the stomach or thighs).
Although it is usually a walk-in, walk-out treatment, it is still classed as a surgical procedure as it involves the use of sedation, and should only be carried out by a qualified doctor. It is a permanent procedure that costs between £7500 and £8000.
Generally, cosmetic practitioners will not carry out buttock augmentation with dermal fillers in the UK as the results are unreliable – patients who have undergone the procedure report drooping and movement of the fillers, as well as a-symmetry.
The use of unregulated substances for buttock augmentation is a big problem in the US, and we predict it won’t be long until we start seeing instances of this type occurring in the UK. These procedures are extremely dangerous – stay vigilant and don’t be fooled by unethical amateurs.