Fat Transfer To Breast
Fat grafting to the breast.
Is this as predictable and reliable as an implant?
In general, no. Up to 50% of the fat will be reabsorbed. Also with the fat being placed within the tissue, the amount of expansion you can get is significantly less than what you see with an implant. In general one should expect around a half cup size change. Less commonly a patient may be fortunate to see a full cup size in volume change. Implants can provide multiple cup size expansion and are predictable since we know exactly the volume we are putting in.
What are the drawbacks?
Aside from the limited and unpredictable amount of volume increase, there is as high as a 30% chance of nodularity where a patient can feel pea-sized areas of hardness although these are typically not visible. Patients need to also keep in mind that they are signing up for two surgeries with fat grafting - surgery for the breast and also liposuction. This introduces considerations for both cost and recovery.
How does the result feel?
Results can feel very natural although the breast may feel a bit more dense and nodular.
When do you typically use fat in aesthetic breast augmentation?
(1) the patient is strongly opposed to implants but also has a good understanding of expectations (2) the patient is there primarily for liposuction and wants to use the fat for something rather than discard it (3) cases of composite augmentation for specific anatomy where we use an implant for most of the volume and use fat to shore up particular areas such as the cleavage (4) cases where we are targeting more focal areas of the breast rather than the breast as a whole.
#fatgrafting #fat #transfer #losangeles