You’ve probably heard this expression: if it seems too good, it’s probably.
Well, that’s especially true for cosmetic treatments and plastic surgery — and that’s what we’re saying is seeing more and more people learn the hardest methods after seeking cheap silicone injections on the black market, or through other illegal means.
Dr. Joseph Hadied, a plastic surgeon at Beverly Hills, says he saw an increase in cases this year that require corrective action after injecting silicone from the black market. Some of these patients have been injected abroad, he says. Others got them at parties – sometimes in people’s homes or hotel rooms.
In many cases, he says, patients don’t even know what they inject into their bodies. Sometimes it’s silicon. Sometimes it’s another substance.
“It sounds like something from the movie,” Hadied says. “It goes without saying, it’s not exempt and not regulated, and now we’re beginning to see some of the long-term problems and complications and consequences of these injections that are often illegal.”
If the black market silicon injections do not work
Hadied was first heard about the black market silicon injections when he detailed the horrifying experiences of Cardi B getting black market butt injections about seven years ago. When the rapper gets an injection to GQ in the basement without anesthesia and wants to go back for a touch-up, she learns, “Because she died at the table because she appears to have killed someone,” “She probably killed someone,” and “Locked.”
Since the Cardi B story made waves, Hadeed says he has seen more people appear in his practice in similarly horrifying stories.
In many cases, these patients received the injection several years ago, and now they have suffering complications.
He says that the most common area of these injections is the butt, but he also looks at a person’s hips, lips, and breasts. Complications from the silicon in the Black Market include infection, the movement of silicon from one part of the body to another, chronic pain, appearance, and in some cases death. In most cases, these problems can only be resolved with additional surgeries.
“If these complications occurred, we couldn’t get back to seeing what someone was like before we had the injection,” Hadeed said. “So I tell people that the best way to prevent these complications from occurring is not to do it in the first place.”
Sometimes, he says that silicon injected into the black market is silicon of industrial strength. Sometimes it’s not even silicon at all.
“It’s literally something you found on the shelf at Home Depot,” Hadied says. “It could be mineral oil, corn oil, vegetable oil, etc.
“If that seems too good, it usually does.”
Some patients tell Hadeed that they have given these injections with a “filler” or “botox” party. Some people say they learned about injections through word of mouth. Others travelled abroad and sought injections abroad for a small portion of their costs in the US.
Dr. Benjamin Kolin, a plastic surgeon in Chicago, says that patients who share similar stories also saw patients in his practice. Overall, he says that doing medical procedures outside of a medical setting is a bad idea.
“Due to risk, fillers should not be done outside of a medical facility,” he says. “All the right equipment is needed. It’s rare. If something goes wrong, I want to be prepared.”
Hadeed said most people turn to black market silicon injections for two reasons. They are cheap and convenient.
But these two attributes, he says, should be a red flag, not a selling point.
“If you think it’s too good, that’s usually the case,” Hadied says. “You get what you pay, and if you’re paying for something very cheap, it may look good soon. But sometimes you develop these issues and complications.”
Worse, many people seeking cheaper alternative treatments on the black market will have to pay more in the long run if additional surgery is required to treat complications from these procedures.
“They probably went this route to save money, so they’re not like independent, wealthy groups,” says Caughlin. “You feel bad for them, so it’s a difficult problem to treat for a few different reasons.”
