No, I am not talking about people dying because they are obese and have big butts. I am talking about women who go to laypeople to get injections into their buttocks to make them look larger. A dangerous trend has cropped up in various parts of the country. Several women have died or gone into kidney failure because of toxic substances that laypeople injected – a mix of superglue, cement and flat tire sealant in Florida, fertility drugs in North Carolina, and silicone injections in New York.

Practicing medicine without a license, leaving women to die, putting women into kidney failure – these are charges against people in several parts of the U.S. The lucrative and dangerous practice is apparently hard to stop. A North Carolina woman on probation for injecting three women in 2008 was arrested for doing it again.

Here’s the deal – none of us are perfect. Plastic surgery in the hands of skilled physicians carries risks. It is unpleasant, uncomfortable and has no guarantees. I have taken care of people who had facelifts and other types of work done purely for vanity. The pain and swelling are significant. (We get few requests for plastic surgeon experts for vanity plastic surgery gone bad, in the sense that the patient does not like the results. Untreated infections resulting in devastating damages – yes, we see those cases). Plastic surgery in the hands of people without medical training is downright playing Russian Roulette with a bullet in every chamber.

Once I was on a plane sitting a row ahead of two lovely young women who were discussing Botox. They were talking about when they would start getting injections, not IF they should. They also described their ideal image of a man – he had broad shoulders, a slim waist, and long legs. I did not hear one word about reliable, responsible, caring, and a good provider. I wanted to turn around and tell them that beauty comes from within. It is based on your character, your actions, and your values. A trim, sculpted body lasts only so long before the aging process and gravity takes over.

There has been much written about distortions of body image: young girls starving themselves, the fight against wrinkles, the quest for bigger breasts. And now, the quest for bigger buttocks that leads to death.

Here is a take home point: make a point of reassuring your children and spouse and friends that they are beautiful to you. They are special, one of a kind, and it does not matter what they look like – it is what is inside that counts. Enough of mutilation, starvation, scarring and back room killing.

Med League provides medical expert witnesses to trial lawyers. Please call us at (908)788-8227 or contact us today to discuss your next case.