(CBS/AP) Six women in New Jersey are recovering after they received buttocks-enhancement injections containing silicone used to caulk bathtubs.
State health officials say the women, from Essex County, apparently underwent cosmetic procedures from unlicensed providers.
Investigators have not determined if the cases are related.
No arrests have been made.
Instead of medical-grade silicone, the women received a diluted version of nonmedical-grade silicone.
"The same stuff you use to put caulk around the bathtub," said Steven M. Marcus, executive and medical director of the New Jersey Poison Information and Education System, according to The Star-Ledger.
State epidemiologist Tina Tan says there's the risk for more serious complications when infections are not treated early.
Gregory Borah, chief of plastic surgery at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick, told the newspaper the incident was "a tragedy."
Using over-the-counter silicone can cause abscesses that he said resemble "a big zit."
Borah, also president of the New Jersey Society of Plastic Surgeons, said the botched procedures underscore the need for patients seeking such enhancement to seek out licensed professionals in a sterile setting, the newspaper reported.
State health officials say the women, from Essex County, apparently underwent cosmetic procedures from unlicensed providers.
Investigators have not determined if the cases are related.
No arrests have been made.
Instead of medical-grade silicone, the women received a diluted version of nonmedical-grade silicone.
"The same stuff you use to put caulk around the bathtub," said Steven M. Marcus, executive and medical director of the New Jersey Poison Information and Education System, according to The Star-Ledger.
State epidemiologist Tina Tan says there's the risk for more serious complications when infections are not treated early.
Gregory Borah, chief of plastic surgery at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick, told the newspaper the incident was "a tragedy."
Using over-the-counter silicone can cause abscesses that he said resemble "a big zit."
Borah, also president of the New Jersey Society of Plastic Surgeons, said the botched procedures underscore the need for patients seeking such enhancement to seek out licensed professionals in a sterile setting, the newspaper reported.
