Blame it all on the belfies

It's the plastic surgery trend that's come from behind. Forget boob jobs, bottom augmentations are now one of the most sought-after cosmetic enhancements among women.

From implants to injections of your own fat (called "the Brazilian butt lift"), this is fast becoming a game-changing industry.

There's an undeniable celebrity influence.

Singer Nicki Minaj's video for Anaconda (Lyrics: Oh my gosh, look at her butt/ Where my fat ass big b******* in the club?) had almost 20million views on the day of release. J-Lo and Iggy Azalea recently dueted on a song called Booty. Kim Kardashian is famous for her belfies (bum selfies). Rihanna has flashed her behind in a number of sheer and backless dresses this year. And Miley Cyrus was photographed modelling a giant prosthetic strap-on posterior.

Not to mention Sports Illustrated, which abandoned its classic swimsuit cover for 2014 in favour of Nina Agdal, Lily Aldridge and Chrissy Teigen displaying their semi-naked backsides.

Instagram user Jen Selter has more followers for her bum (4.8million) than Lady Gaga.

In short, we're all going derriere delirious. And it's something that's easy to make light of. Crack a few jokes about.

Except. News broke at the weekend that showed the increasingly desperate lengths some women are prepared to go to in order to achieve the "perfect bottom".

Londoner Joy Williams, 24, died after travelling to Thailand for cosmetic surgery. She found a clinic online and paid £2000 (R35 000) for a buttock augmentation - where silicone implants are inserted under the skin. But her wounds became infected. She returned, in severe pain, for a second surgery and died soon afterwards.

The doctor has been charged with causing her death by negligence and stands accused of carrying out night-time surgery without a licence - something he denies.

British consultant plastic surgeon Nilesh Sojitra isn't surprised. He says there's been a sharp rise in the number of young women asking for the procedure, which has been popular in South America for years.

But many plastic surgeons refuse to perform the procedure. Often they think the results won't be noticeable enough to justify the risk, or don't deem it safe at all.

NewMe_NewBooty posted on the website realself.com: "I've wanted butt implants for a long time but never taken my own needs seriously because in London it's been a bit of a joke. I even called up a cosmetic surgery on Harley Street and the receptionist actually laughed."

She writes about going to the Dominican Republic for the procedure, as the "prices are better".

Fat-transfer injections start from £3000 and implants can cost as much as £7000. So women start looking abroad for willing and cheaper options.

Except they're not always safe.

"Virtually all implants need to be taken out at some point," consultant plastic and cosmetic surgeon Paul Banwell says. "They're solid, not like the soft implants we associate with breast augmentation. They often get infected."

Sojitra agrees: "We often see women who have had the procedure abroad coming here with their implants sticking out. After surgery they get on a 14-hour flight home and expect it to be okay. Then they have to lie on their front, in a hospital ward, for four weeks."

And, as with almost all medical tourism, there's no reliable aftercare.

"The procedure is often sold as a holiday," says Sojitra.

"You don't know what's being used, the medication could easily be out of date," he continues, citing the case of a dancer who died in 2011 after suspected industrial-grade silicone was used in her implants, causing a blood clot.

"There's no regulation. It's cost over quality," says Banwell. "I sympathise, but you get what you pay for."

Still, he says, more women are asking for the procedure than ever before, especially those aged 18 to 25, who want to copy celebrities.

Indeed, earlier this month it was reported that 45% of all bottom-enhancing procedures over the last year had been inspired by Kim Kardashian.

So what should you do if you're set on having bottom surgery?

Banwell advises doing your research.

"Make sure your hospital is close by and that your surgeon is close by," he says.

That said, he "doesn't believe in" carrying out this particular surgery himself "due to the high risks involved".