With the craze for a bigger butt going into overdrive among women, we decided to tap expert Board Certified Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeon Dr. Gregory Wiener for a special interview on the details involved, once women opt to go under the knife. With the amount of women getting butt implants up 58%, get all the deets on this trendy surgery in our two-part interview from an expert:

So Dr. Wiener, dispel the fact from fiction:  What exactly is a butt augmentation?

In the simplest of terms, a butt augmentation increases the volume of the buttocks. This can be done in a number of ways, most popularly through procedures such as the Brazilian butt lift which utilizes your body's own fat or through augmentation which utilizes an implant.

What do you think is driving the surge for this procedure among women?

Many stars in Hollywood including Kim Kardashian, Jennifer Lopez and Beyonce, have idealized the hourglass figure with their tiny waists and shapely backsides. It has spurred a cultural phenomenon of sorts, particularly in the African-American and Hispanic communities with many women wishing to attain a similar figure.

Are there different types of filler than can be used to enhance the buttocks?

No filler on the market will provide the volume necessary to make a noticeable difference. Fillers like Hyaluronic Acid (HA) would require thousands of dollars worth of injections for an obvious enhancement, is not permanent, and begins to dissipate within six months. Other fillers, such as silicone, can be dangerous and cause lumps and bumps, which are permanent. If you can use your body's own fat through a fat transfer, that is almost always the best route. If a patient doesn't have enough of their own fat to make a difference, a buttock implant is the next best option.

What kind of woman makes the ideal patient to have this procedure done?

For a procedure such as the Brazilian Butt Lift, the patient will need to have some excess fat in order to have a successful procedure. Ideally, the excess fat around the waistline or on the back and love handle area can be removed through ultrasonic liposuction and then injected into the buttocks. The liposuction not only harvests the fat for the procedure, it helps narrow the waistline which offers the illusion of a rounder backside. For very athletic patients or patients with little to no fat, a butt augmentation procedure with an implant is the best route. For patients who prefer an implant, we may still liposuction around the middle and waistline to create a more noticeable hourglass shape.

What does the surgery entail? Is there pain involved and a long recovery time?

During fat transfer procedures I use VASERlipo, which is a unique piece of ultrasonic technology that removes unwanted fat from problem areas and provides improved body contouring over traditional liposuction. The VASER procedure liquefies fat but keeps cells intact, which is ideal for harvesting and preserving the fat during a transfer. The fat is then purified, placed in syringes and injected one drop at a time, starting deep within the gluteus muscle and working outward. 

Wanna know more? Look out for Part Two of our interview tomorrow!