Liposuction fat transfer to the breasts has become a popular method of breast augmentation. Liposuction is performed under local anesthetic, and results in minimal pain or scarring. The patient may experience numbness at the area of liposuction, but other than that should be able to resume normal activities after a short recovery period.

In this guide, we review the aspects of Liposuction Fat Transfer To Breasts, fat transfer breast augmentation risks, fat grafting breast reconstruction with implant, and can fat from liposuction be used for breast augmentation.

Liposuction Fat Transfer To Breasts

Liposuction and fat transfer are both procedures that can be used to add volume to women’s breasts. Although they’re both cosmetic procedures, they work in very different ways. Liposuction removes excess fat from other areas of the body and places it in your breasts. Fat transfer uses liposuctioned fat to re-inflate existing breast tissue.

Liposuction fat transfer to breasts

Liposuction is a surgical procedure that removes fat from areas of the body and transfers it to other areas. Liposuction can be used to add volume to breasts, remove fat from the stomach and thighs, or replace breast implants.

A study published in Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery found that liposuction may be better than breast implants because there are more risks associated with surgery on your chest area than there are with liposuction. The researchers also believe that if you have a high amount of body fat then liposuction may be a better option for you than getting implants since there won’t be much space left after they’re removed.

How is it done?

The procedure is done in the following way:

• Liposuction is used to remove fat from one part of the patient’s body, usually from the abdomen or thigh area. The fat is then purified, processed and injected into the breast.
• The procedure can be done as an outpatient surgery and requires local anesthesia so that you do not feel any pain during removal or injection of your own fat cells into your breasts.
• You will typically wear a special compression garment after surgery for six weeks at night to help with swelling, which will help prevent new lumps or bumps from forming on your breasts after liposuction and fat transfer procedures have been performed (though this isn’t always necessary).

What are the pros and cons of fat transfer to breast?

Pros:

The main pros of fat transfer to the breasts are that it’s non-invasive and can be done in the office without anesthesia. Also, if you have excess fat after liposuction elsewhere on your body, you can use that as a filler for your breast augmentation.

Cons:

Potential problems include the following:

• The procedure is not permanent. You may need repeat procedures or another type of reconstruction if you don’t have enough donor fat available.
• It’s not possible to predict exactly how much volume will be obtained or where swelling will occur after injection because this depends on factors such as patient anatomy, injector technique, amount of product injected and other factors such as exercise following procedure

We have a new way to add volume to women’s breasts.

Ladies, we have a new way to add volume to women’s breasts. It’s called fat transfer breast augmentation and it’s now available at our practice.

This procedure is used for restoring volume that has been lost due to age or weight loss in the upper portion of the chest. Fat is harvested from areas of excess such as hips or thighs and injected into your breasts using small cannulas (tubes with a needle on each end). The fat will stay put indefinitely because it is attached to your own tissue with stitches, which dissolve over time. This procedure can also be done using noninvasive ultrasound technology that stimulates growth factors within your body instead of needles!

But hold up: this isn’t exactly like breast augmentation surgery where implants are inserted into pockets created under the muscle tissue near your chest wall; nor is it like fat grafting (also known as autologous fat transfer) where skin incisions are made on different parts of your body so excess fat can be removed through liposuction then transferred back into its original location—which could include breasts but would most likely go somewhere else like thighs or arms instead.”

fat transfer breast augmentation risks

Many patients want to enhance their breasts but are nervous about looking too fake or concerned about traditional breast implants. However, recent developments in breast augmentation allow surgeons to use your own body fat to increase your bust size and lift your breasts. This is known as fat grafting. Patients also love the new look and feel of their natural breasts, along with the added benefit of improving the body’s curves. Let’s discuss the pros and cons of both fat grafting and breast implants.

Many patients want to enhance their breasts but are nervous about looking too fake or concerned about traditional breast implants. However, recent developments in breast augmentation allow surgeons to use your own body fat to increase your bust size and lift your breasts. This is known as fat grafting. Patients also love the new look and feel of their natural breasts, along with the added benefit of improving the body’s curves. Let’s discuss the pros and cons of both fat grafting and breast implants.

The Pros of Fat Grafting Breast Augmentation

Fat transfer uses your own body fat to augment your breasts. It is also considered one of the safest and most natural filling material for the breasts. This means there is little to no risk of allergic reactions when using your own tissue. It also means your breasts look and feel more natural.

Scarring and Fat Grafting

Further, there are virtually no scars when it comes to fat injections. There is also no risk of rippling or long-term breast thinning, commonly associated with breast implants.

There is also no necessary maintenance with fat grafting in comparison with breast implants. Patients also enjoy the benefits of body contouring due to how fat is harvested for this procedure.

The Cons of Fat Grafting Breast Augmentation

There are, however, risks of calcification in the breasts from fat injections. As a result, some surgeons worry that fat grafting can interfere with breast cancer screening. Further, patients seeking a large change in breast size may not be able to achieve their results with one fat grafting procedure.

The cost of fat grafting is often more than that of breast augmentation. This means it is prohibitive for many patients. There is also a risk of lumps and nodules in the breasts. Indentations or irregularities can also occur at the site of the fat harvest if your surgeon is inexperienced.

The cost of fat grafting is often more than that of breast augmentation. This means it is prohibitive for many patients. There is also a risk of lumps and nodules in the breasts. Indentations or irregularities can also occur at the site of the fat harvest if your surgeon is inexperienced.

Health Concerns with Fat Grafting

Like all surgical procedures, there are risks involved with fat transfer. These include:

Further, the amount of fat required for breast augmentation procedures is still undecided. Due to the risk of necrosis, many surgeons over-inject the breasts to prevent fat loss. Further, a good supply must be available for the fat or the cells will also die.

Fat Grafting and Weight Loss

There is also little research, yet, on how weight loss and weight gain affect the transferred fat and how it settles in the breasts. Many surgeons are concerned that taking fat from an area where you get primary weight gain, the stomach, for example, means you are likely to continue to see breast growth if you use those fat cells.

Finally, there are also concerns that fat transfer could make it more difficult to detect breast cancer. Download Our Breast Augmentation Guide Breast Augmentation Guide Download  

Finally, there are also concerns that fat transfer could make it more difficult to detect breast cancer.

Download Our Breast Augmentation Guide

The Pros of Breast Implants in Breast Augmentation

Due to their extensive use over the years, breast implants produce a reliable, predictable change in size. Using breast implants also allows patients to better dictate breast size. Further, current breast implants are safe and more natural-feeling than ever. Implants also do not require additional surgery on other parts of the body, as fat grafting does.

The cost of breast augmentation with implants is also much less than fat grafting. Implants can be easily removed while it is difficult to remove fat once it is injected.

The Cons of Breast Implants in Breast Augmentation

Unlike fat grafting, implants carry the risk of rupture and leakage. This means they must be changed over the patient’s lifespan. Implants also have a risk of visibility and rippling, especially when they are too large for your breast tissue.

Further, breast implants have a risk of capsular contracture, when scar tissue thickens around an implant, resulting in implant hardening and distortion. Breast implants also result in visible scars for placement, unlike fat grafting. While both silicone and saline are considered safe for the body, they are still not as safe as your own body fat.

Fat Grafting or Breast Implants – Which Looks and Feels More Natural?

Breast augmentation patients now have the luxury of choosing between saline, silicone and fat grafting for their plastic surgery procedures. However, all options come with their own drawbacks and limitations.

Choosing the right type of procedure depends on many factors. Silicone and saline implants have been used countless times in breast augmentation procedures over the years. These are time tested classics that are still in regular use today. As a result, the option used in your surgery is often entirely based on what you and your surgeon decide offers you the best results.

Silicone or Saline Breast Implants?

Many surgeons prefer silicone implants as they look and feel more realistic. Silicone is often seen as softer and less weighty than saline. Saline, on the other hand, is preferred by other surgeons as they have more natural bounce, go flat when you lie down, are adjustable and the body can absorb saline if you experience a rupture. Saline also often costs half the price of silicone and are great for patients nervous about putting silicone in their body.

However, the choice between saline and silicone becomes less of an issue the more breast tissue you have.

Fat Grafting or Implants?

Fat grafting, on the other hand, seeks to address two issues at once. Not only is it perfect for removing fat from troubled areas using liposuction, but it also can be used to augment the breasts. Many surgeons also feel it provides the most natural-looking result. However, despite this advantage, fat grafting is limited to increasing the breast by one cup size per procedure. Combining a breast implant and fat graft can also give more natural results, while significantly increasing size.

Longevity and Potential Complications

Many surgeons find that fat grafting is not as practical or as safe as breast implants. Implants have a 40-year history, and surgeons understand their pros and cons. Fat grafting is also relatively new, meaning there is not as much research behind the technique. This includes understanding when fat dissolves if it will form cysts, and how it can cause pain.

fat grafting breast reconstruction with implant

Fat grafting, or fat transfer, is a commonly used technique to reconstruct the breast after mastectomy or lumpectomy. In addition, fat transfer can correct breast size and shape affected by genetic issues like Poland Syndrome or tuberous breast, which may cause misshapen or underdeveloped breasts.

Women who undergo breast cancer removal surgery will usually experience the loss of some or all breast tissue — a bodily change that can have serious adverse effects on psychological welfare and happiness post-cancer. Breast reconstruction is an important part of recovering from breast cancer and returning to a normal life.

In some cases, breast reconstruction with fat transfer can be performed during the same procedure as cancer removal. Reconstruction can also be performed after the completion of treatment. No matter the timing, this type of breast reconstruction produces attractive, natural results using a woman’s best reconstruction resource: her own fat cells.

The Science and Techniques Behind Fat Grafting

For more than 100 years, doctors have successfully used patients’ own fat in the surgical restoration of a natural, healthy appearance — from reconstructing areas damaged by cancer and cancer treatment to restoring youthfulness to areas affected by age.

The success of fat transfer surgery depends on harvesting, processing, and transfer techniques used to move the patient’s living cells during the procedure. Not all techniques are created equal or offer equal results. Omega Hospital Integrative Breast Center surgeons are experts in successful fat transfer and breast reconstruction. Each year, our surgeons perform hundreds of breast reconstruction surgeries, including many that involve fat grafting.

How Does Fat Grafting for Breast Reconstruction Work?

There are two ways that fat grafting, or transfer, can be utilized in breast reconstruction:

Where Does the Fat Come From?

When you choose fat transfer for your breast reconstruction, your surgeon will choose a donor site. The site is usually located in the areas of the belly, thigh, or flanks (love handles).

Then, the fat is removed from the donor site with a special liposuction technique that preserves the living fat cells. This fat is processed into pure fat, which supports concentration of highly enriched stem cells. Because of their rejuvenating abilities, stem cells help the reconstructed breast heal, and can enhance final breast reconstruction results. Omega Hospital Integrative Breast Center always recommends use of stem cells when the breast has been treated with radiation.

To transfer fat to the breast site, our surgeons carefully and skillfully inject individual droplets of fat into the breast with a special instrument known as a cannula. Use of a cannula prevents the small blood vessels in and around the breast tissue from bleeding, thus saving the transferred fat cells from dying (a process known as fat necrosis). The fat becomes part of the breast’s existing adipose, or fat tissue, and the breasts are “naturally” enlarged.

Breast fat transfer can be used for the following goals or issues:

Recovery from fat transfer usually takes one to two days. All breast reconstruction patients have a range of options. Our surgeons will be happy to help you find the one that is right for you.

Benefits and Results of Fat Grafting

After the fat grafting procedure, patients will see fat retention ranging from 50-80%. Fat that is not absorbed back into the body will permanently augment the breast. Because there are no incisions made to the breast during the grafting procedure, fat injections by cannula result in little to no scarring.

Another benefit of the fat transfer procedure is the resulting slimmer, trimmer donor area (hips, belly, thighs, or love handles). Your surgeon will make two small incisions at the donor site to harvest the fat; however, these are well-hidden, and are usually no longer than 3mm.

What to Expect After Your Fat Grafting Procedure

While you will experience mild to moderate swelling and bruising in the breasts and the donor site, there is normally little breast discomfort after fat grafting. Mild to moderate discomfort in the donor site is normal.

Our staff will fit you with a compression garment to minimize swelling of the donor site. For at least two weeks following your surgery, you should avoid any compression of the breasts; for this reason, you will not be fitted with a post-operative bra. This is to allow the new, living fat cells to integrate successfully into the tissue. Common activities that you should avoid include wearing a bra, sleeping on your stomach, or any activity that might place direct pressure on the breasts.

Patients with more sedentary jobs are generally able to return to work in three to five days, while patients with more active jobs are usually able to return to work one week after their surgery.

To discover which fat grafting options are right for you, and how it can help you achieve the appearance you want, please schedule a consultation with our surgeons.

can fat from liposuction be used for breast augmentation

Is Fat Grafting a Good Option for Breast Augmentation?

Fat transfer is the latest trend to gain attention in the field of breast enhancement, but is it really the next big thing in breast augmentation? At my Northbrook cosmetic surgery practice near Arlington Heights, IL, I frequently consult with women interested in augmenting their breasts via fat transfer. While this procedure has many benefits to offer, it may not be the replacement for breast implants that some believe it to be.

In this blog post, I’ll discuss how fat transfer breast augmentation works, where it falls short, and how it works best for creating exceptional breast surgery results.

What Is Fat Transfer Breast Augmentation?

Fat transfer breast augmentation is a procedure in which a surgeon harvests fat from elsewhere in the body via liposuction, processes it, and injects it into or around the breasts.

While implants have long been the go-to for breast augmentation, this technique has gained buzz in recent years because it involves:

Is Fat Grafting a Replacement for Breast Implants? No.

Fat transfer is best for achieving only a modest size increase comparable to ½ to 1 cup size, which is less than what most women are looking for with breast augmentation.

Not all of the fat placed in the breast will “take” or last over the long term, which may lead to a less predictable result. Implants, on the other hand, provide predictable volume that maintains its shape and size for many years.

With fat transfer breast augmentation, you may need multiple procedures to achieve or maintain your best results. This can end up being costly and requires you to undergo surgery and recovery several times, which offsets its perceived convenience.

Is Fat Grafting a Good Way to Enhance Breast Augmentation? Yes.

As a complement to breast implants, fat grafting can enhance results by:

You can have this procedure done at the same time as your breast augmentation with implants. It won’t add on any additional recovery time.

If you think you may benefit from including fat grafting in your procedure, your first step is to discuss it with a board-certified plastic surgeon you trust during a private consultation. This gives you the chance to ask questions and learn more about whether it may be a worthwhile addition to your surgery.

To see examples of the results you can achieve with breast augmentation, please visit my before-and-after photo gallery.

If you would like to meet with me to discuss your breast augmentation options, please request a consultation online or call my Arlington Heights-area plastic surgery practice at (847) 504-2333.