Cosmetic Injection of Illicit Foreign Materials: Imaging Features and Patterns of Migration in 413 Cases

The injection of illicit, nonregulated foreign materials is increasingly common and has negative consequences relative to the inflammatory process that ensues.

The aim of this study was to identify anatomical and imaging characteristics after the cosmetic injection of illicit foreign materials.

A retrospective review of clinical and imaging records was performed. The issues analyzed were the anatomical site, type of injected substance, imaging method for diagnosis, and patterns of migration.

Data on 413 patients were collected. Most patients were female, with a mean age of 44 years. The most commonly infiltrated region was the buttocks (n = 284; 53.58%) followed by the breast (n = 99; 18.67%). Magnetic resonance imaging was the most common method of diagnosis in those patients who had an imaging study (159 out of 168). The most frequent depth of foreign material detected by imaging was the muscular plane (n = 103; 61.30%). Migration was detected in 56.55% of patients who had an imaging study. Most infiltrated substances were unknown; biopolymers were the most commonly identified substances. Depending on the type of substance, migration rates varied from 13% to 29%; rate differences were not statistically significant (P = .712). Migration was more common when the depth of infiltration was in muscle (77.66%) than in subcutaneous tissue (23.4%); this difference was statistically significant (P < .0001).

Deep infiltration is related to greater migration rates, apparently regardless of the substance injected.