Social issues and medico-surgical complications of improving the gluteal silhouette in African women: Case report and review of the literature

Voluntary gluteal augmentation is an ideal defined by society, region and period. The low income status of African women does not allow access to recommended medical and surgical methods for this. They use poorly understood and cheaper methods. These cheaper procedures present with serious complications that could be life-threatening. We present the case of a 35-year-old woman who was received in a state of septic shock after injection of an unknown substance to improve her gluteal curve. This injection resulted to tissue necrosis and healing was impaired. It required repair using a fascio-cutaneous tensor fasciae latae flap given the aesthetic role the gluteal region accounts for. Known gluteal augmentation techniques used in Africa are either natural or artificial. These methods have not been the subject of scientific study. The complications are not known before hand; those encountered in our presentation are severe soft tissue infection with tissue necrosis, neurapraxia and impaired healing. Soft tissue defects caused by necrosis may require the use of a flap, choice of which would give the most satisfactory functional and aesthetic results. The complications of these methods cannot be anticipated. Management of these complications is multidisciplinary and must be done in a hospital setting. •Society influences personal self-esteem and contributes to the use of methods aimed at improving the figure.•The high costs of methods allowing these objectives to be achieved motivate the use of methods without scientific proof.•These methods are sometimes the cause of medical and surgical complications that can be life-threatening.•Reconstruction techniques such as flaps are often necessary for healing, scarring and better aesthetic presentation.