Every few months a new phrase circulates for the same idea: a rounder buttock without an operating room. "Liquid BBL." "Non-surgical BBL." "Butt shots." Sometimes the person offering it calls the product a filler or a "biopolymer," sometimes they do not name it at all. The appeal is easy to understand. There are no incisions, no anesthesia, no weeks of avoiding chairs, and the price is usually a fraction of surgery.
This guide explains why those injections sit in a completely different risk category from a surgical Brazilian butt lift, what Colombia changed in 2023, and how to protect yourself if you are researching body contouring in Medellín. It is written for comparison and education only. Whether any procedure is appropriate for you is a decision for a qualified plastic surgeon who has examined you.
What people mean by "biopolymers"
In Colombian Spanish, biopolímeros is often used loosely as a catch-all for permanent substances injected to add volume, including silicone and other synthetic or unidentified materials. Colombian law defines biopolymers and polymers broadly as macromolecular substances produced by living organisms or by chemical synthesis, and then draws the line that matters for patients: whether a substance is on the Ministry of Health's list of fillers permitted for aesthetic use (Ley 2316 de 2023).
The person injecting rarely gives you a label you can check. Often the material is described as "medical," "imported" or "the same thing celebrities use." None of that is verifiable at the moment of injection.
How that differs from a BBL
A BBL, or gluteal fat grafting, is a surgical procedure. Fat is removed by liposuction from other areas, processed, and transferred into the buttocks by a surgeon. Because the material is your own fat, some of it is reabsorbed over time, and the body treats the surviving portion like other fat that changes with weight (ASPS, accessed 2026). Injected permanent substances do not behave that way. They stay, and they can move.
Two procedures that are often confused
Side by sideSurgical BBL (fat grafting)
Biopolymer or silicone injections
The health risks regulators have described
The clearest public warning comes from the United States. In a 2017 safety communication, the FDA said injectable silicone is approved only for a specific use inside the eye, not for enlarging the buttocks or other body contouring. The agency described consumers who believed they were getting an approved filler but were actually injected with silicone, often by unlicensed people in non-clinical settings such as homes or hotels.
The FDA listed the consequences it was seeing: ongoing pain, scarring, tissue death and permanent disfigurement, plus silicone traveling beyond the injection site and causing blocked blood vessels, stroke, infection and death. It also stressed that complications may show up immediately or only after weeks, months or years.
That delayed timeline is part of what makes these injections deceptive. Someone can feel fine for a long time and assume the procedure "worked," while the material is still in the tissue.
Why the buttock is a particularly risky place to inject
The gluteal region contains large blood vessels beneath the muscle. Surgical safety statements on gluteal fat grafting focus heavily on keeping injected material out of deep tissue for exactly this reason. In 2022, ASPS, The Aesthetic Society and their research foundations backed rules requiring that fat be placed only in the subcutaneous space above the gluteal fascia, and supported real-time ultrasound to track the cannula tip during injection (joint safety statement, 2022). An unlicensed injector working with a needle and an unknown substance has none of those safeguards.
What Colombia changed: Ley 2316 de 2023
Colombia responded to years of harm from these injections with Ley 2316 de 2023, issued on August 17, 2023. For patients comparing options, these are the parts worth knowing:
- A new crime. Injecting or infiltrating non-permitted modeling substances for aesthetic purposes is now an offense in the Penal Code. The law sets prison terms of 32 to 120 months for the general offense, and 96 to 180 months plus a 60-month ban from practice when the person responsible is a health professional.
- A permitted list. The Ministry of Health, working through INVIMA, must issue and publish a list of fillers that are permitted for aesthetic use. Anything outside that list is "non-permitted."
- A public provider lookup. The Ministry must publish a free online list of institutions and professionals authorized to perform aesthetic medical and surgical procedures, along with what each is authorized to do.
- Specific informed consent. Consent for injecting modeling substances must spell out aftercare, the product's components, possible complications, adverse effects and risks.
- Support for people already harmed. The law directs Colombia's benefits plan to cover diagnosis, treatment, rehabilitation and removal procedures for affected patients, plus mental-health support, and asks the Ministry to maintain a care protocol for illnesses caused by non-permitted substances.
The law does not mean every injectable product is banned, and it does not make fat grafting illegal. It targets substances that are not on the permitted list and the people who inject them.
Criminal penalties make the practice riskier for injectors, but offers still circulate on social media and by word of mouth. A legal framework protects you only if you check before anything is injected.
How the offer usually shows up
Most people do not go looking for biopolymers. The offer finds them, often wrapped in friendly language. Watch for these patterns:
Warning patterns in injection offers
Walk awayQuestions that cut through vague marketing
- What is the exact product, who makes it, and what is its INVIMA sanitary registration?
- Is that product on the Ministry of Health's permitted list for this use and this body area?
- What is the name and registry number of the professional who will inject it, and can I verify them on ReTHUS?
- In which facility will this happen, and is that facility enabled for the service?
- What happens, and who treats me, if there is a complication tonight or in five years?
A legitimate provider can answer every one of these. If the answers are vague, the decision is made for you.
If you already had buttock injections
Many people researching a BBL in Medellín had injections years earlier, sometimes in another country, and are not sure what was used. This is common and nothing to hide. It is, however, essential information for any surgeon.
Practical steps
- Tell the surgeon at the first contact. Prior injections can change whether surgery is advisable, which technique is considered, and what imaging is needed beforehand.
- Gather what you can. Dates, the country, the setting, any product name you were told, and any symptoms you have had since then. Even incomplete details help.
- Expect imaging and possibly a different plan. A surgeon may want to see where the material sits before discussing options. Some patients are advised to address the existing material first, or not to proceed with grafting at all.
- Do not let anyone "top up" old injections. Adding more unknown material to tissue that already contains it compounds the problem.
- Know the urgent symptoms. Shortness of breath, chest pain or stroke signs require emergency care regardless of when the injections happened.
Removal of injected material is a specialized area. Ley 2316 lists several extraction approaches, from syringe extraction to open surgery, which itself signals how varied and difficult the problem can be. A surgeon who promises complete removal before examining you is overselling.
Where this fits in BBL research
Understanding the injection risk helps put surgical safety debates in perspective. A surgical BBL carries real dangers, and plastic-surgery societies have been unusually blunt about them, calling gluteal fat grafting a patient-safety emergency in their 2022 statement. The answer they propose is better technique, imaging, appropriate facilities and surgeon accountability, not a shortcut around surgery.
If the main attraction of an injection offer is avoiding surgery, it may be worth asking whether you want added volume at all, or whether a different approach fits your goals. Options that a plastic surgeon may discuss include fat grafting, implants, a buttock lift or simply no procedure. Each has trade-offs that should be explained in a consultation, not in a direct message from a stranger.
A syringe of unknown material is not a lighter version of a BBL. It is a different, unregulated risk that can stay in your body for life.
A short checklist before anything is injected
If any box stays empty, do not proceed.
This guide is for comparison and travel-planning purposes. It cannot determine whether surgery is appropriate for you or replace advice from clinicians who know your history.
Request a Medellin BBL consultation.
Tell us what you are considering and your travel window. Keep detailed medical records and sensitive health information for the clinical team rather than a marketing form.
FAQ
Is a "liquid BBL" or "non-surgical BBL" the same as biopolymers?
Not necessarily, because marketing names are used loosely. That is exactly the problem: the label tells you nothing about what is in the syringe. Ask for the product's exact name, manufacturer and Colombian sanitary registration, and ask a board-qualified plastic surgeon for an independent opinion before anyone injects anything into your buttocks.
Are biopolymer injections legal in Colombia now?
Injecting or infiltrating substances that are not on the Ministry of Health's permitted list for aesthetic use became a criminal offense under Ley 2316 de 2023, with harsher penalties when a health professional is responsible. Permitted fillers are regulated separately, and the law requires the Ministry to publish the permitted list.
Can a BBL be done on someone who already has biopolymers in the buttocks?
That is a question only a plastic surgeon who examines you, usually with imaging, can answer. Prior injected material can change what is safe or possible, and some patients first need evaluation or treatment for the existing material. Disclose any past injections at the very start of your consultation.
What symptoms after old buttock injections should not be ignored?
The FDA (2017) lists ongoing pain, scarring, tissue death, migration of injected silicone, embolism, stroke and infection among the risks, and notes problems can show up years later. Trouble breathing, chest pain or stroke signs need emergency care. New lumps, hardening, redness or pain deserve a medical evaluation.
Is fat grafting itself risk-free because it uses my own tissue?
No. Using your own fat avoids a foreign substance, but gluteal fat grafting is still major surgery with its own serious risks, which is why plastic-surgery societies have issued repeated safety statements about technique and injection depth.
MedellinBBL.co is an independent information and referral service, not a clinic. We do not diagnose, prescribe, certify providers, or provide emergency care. If you have urgent postoperative symptoms, seek appropriate medical care rather than relying on a website or messaging service.