Black Market Booty, Or Jersey Sure

Six women from the Essex County, NJ area who wanted fuller bottoms ended up in hospitals after receiving buttocks-enhancement injections containing the same material contractors use to caulk bathtubs, officials said. What? They didn't want to do their boobs for a few extra bucks?

The women checked into hospitals after their procedures, clearly administered by unlicensed providers, went horribly wrong. The women underwent surgery and were given antibiotics. No arrests have been made.

Different from medical-grade silicone, the substance used in the botched procedures was believed to be a diluted version of non medical-grade silicone. Using over-the-counter silicone can cause abscesses that can resemble "a big zit". The New Jersey Society of Plastic Surgeons said the botched procedures underscore the need for patients who seek augmentation to have it administered by a licensed professional in a sterile setting.

A plastic surgeon doing buttocks augmentation would make an incision to develop a pocket underneath the muscle and shape the buttocks with inert medical-grade silicone. It is a relatively uncommon procedure in most practices and by the time patients learn of the potential risks — from anesthesia, scarring and silicone shifting when patients sit down — many often change their minds. Breast and cheek augmentations are the most common procedures, though buttock augmentation is more popular in some cultures than others.

The state Department of Health and Senior Services did not identify the women or release any details about their ethnicity. It also did not say where the "unlicensed medical provider or providers" performed their procedures. Investigators have not determined if the six cases, which began to be reported in mid-February, are related, but they have stoked concern among officials that such injuries are more common than previously thought.

Health officials issued an alert to state hospitals and doctors about the cases and the potential for more idiots victims.