Can I Get Hip Implants If I Am Skinny?

Q: Dr. Eppley, I am interested in hip implants. I am tall and lean with little fat.

A:Thank you for sending your pictures. With a very lean body and with decent thigh musculature despite the lean frame  I can certainly see why the interest in hip implants. My initial general comments in hip implants based on a lot of patient experience is the following statement:

Hip implants have a fairly high rate of complications so patients have to be selected very carefully to try and lower those risks. There are two major risk factors, 1) thin patients with little subcutaneous fat (inadequate soft tissue cover) and 2) implants that are too big. (too thick for the tissues to adequately support them) The key to lowering these risks is to avoid putting in an implant size that exceeds their soft tissue capability to adequately handle it. (aka provide good camouflage of its edges)

While these hip implant issues certainly apply to you (thin subcutaneous fat layer) the key to lowering these risk is keep the implant projection at 1.0 to 1.2cms and the vertical length of the implant not overly long. (less than 20cms)

Dr. Barry Eppley

World-Renowned Plastic Surgeon