What Is Breast Augmentation Using Fat Graft?

Breast augmentation using fat graft is done when you want your enhanced breasts to look naturally big. Traditional breast implants can be scary compared to fat grafting, which is why this surgery is preferred by many women these days.

The augmentation of autologous liposuction started gaining ground by the 1990s. Though this form of surgery started as a cosmetic augmentation, health professionals have started using it for therapeutic purposes like repairing damages to the breast tissue from radiation treatments.

Lipofilling is a form of liposuction which was used to fix minor balancing, reshaping or positioning of the breasts. The successful results of these minor surgeries gave way to a full reconstruction of the breasts.

Statistics on Liposuction

After the introduction of fat transfer breast augmentation in the 1980s, the process took a hit because of the numerous complications that occurred during the procedures. Following deliberate troubleshooting, fat grafting is now the most researched technique for breast enlargement.

Recent survey shows that about 60% of plastic surgeons use fat transfer for breast enhancement and up to 30% uses it as a supplementary process for implants.

Procedure of fat transfer

The desired volume of fat is harvested from the patient’s thighs, arms, waist, and stomach, wherever there is excess fat, with a liposuction cannula. The extracted fat is placed under a process to gather and liquidate the correct fat amount for grafting. After carefully extracting the micro-fats from the body, they are meticulously re-injected to the breasts for the enlargement to work.

Multiple puncture focal points are made to insert the fat cells evenly. The fats get embedded to the tissue of the breasts, and it grows naturally up to 2 cup sizes large, and all these without implants.

Many young mothers are going for fat graft breast augmentation because after childbirth their breast size deflates. Sometimes they need to remove some unwanted fat pockets from the breast area that forms after having a baby, through liposuction.

In many cases after surgery, the body may reabsorb the fats over time, resulting in loss of some breast volume. For this reason, your surgeon may initially add more fats than desired.

Pros and Cons

You may have already decided to go for fat graft for breast augmentation, but there are certain things you should consider while the picture may look perfect to you.

Pros:

1. It is 100% natural as it only uses tissues from your body making them look natural and feel soft.
2. Since the grafting is made from the patient’s own body tissues, there is no risk of synthetic implants rupturing, encapsulation or adenopathies.
3. The overall procedure will enhance your silhouette completely while extracting unwanted fats from other parts of the body. You will get a new figure with slimmer thighs, flatter tummy, sculpted waistline, and bigger and perkier breasts.
4. You don’t have to worry about scars as the procedure uses only incisions for fat harvesting and injecting.
5. If you have gone through radiation treatment, the tissues on your breast might have been damaged. Fat grafting, besides adding curves, heals those tissues as well.
6. There will be no risk of rejection since you will be using your own body cells.

Cons:

1. When it comes to cost, fat transfer breast augmentation will be more expensive compared to other surgeries. It usually involves two surgeries, liposuction and fat grafting.
2. This approach will not help much to correct drooping or sagging breasts.
3. As the body reabsorbs the fats naturally, there will be a slight occurrence of asymmetry in the breast area.
4. For those who want a dramatic change in cup size, this surgery will not go more than a cup size or two whereas with breast implants there are no limitations.
5. After the surgery, calcifications in the breast commonly arises which is different from the pattern of the calcifications associated with breast cancer. These calcifications may interfere in the screening examinations as they will be visible in a mammogram.
6. Some risks that are involved in fat transfer are cysts, infection, and necrosis, which is, the death of cells.

Things to Consider Further

If you have already done breast augmentation with implants or have issues concerning capsular contracture and thin tissues, consider other options. And if you want your implants removed, you can go for explantation and replace it with fats by liposuction.

Surgeons usually don’t reject fat injection on skinny women for lack of body fats.  There is a technique to harvest enough fats using the ‘palm measure.’

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