Breast augmentation with fat grafting has become more of a popular surgery over the last few years. The reasons a woman may want a fat transfer to the breast versus an implant for breast augmentation include: they prefer their own fat versus an implant, they are already having liposuction and want to transfer some of their own fat to the breast, they are looking for a subtle increase in breast volume.
It is great for patients that are looking to increase their breast size by ½-1 cup, correct breast asymmetry, improve soft tissue coverage over a current breast implant or reduce rippling in thin patients.
The benefits are the procedure can be quickly done, there is no scar, rapid recovery, and will avoid implant complications. The main complication is fat necrosis, which can lead to hard nodules.
It is important to understand the limitations of fat grafting breast augmentation. The amount of breast volume that can be obtained through fat transfer is limited, sometimes a patient will need a second transfer to achieve the desired final result, and more variable results when compared to implants (because the result is dependent on fat survival). Approximately 30-40% of the fat will be reabsorbed by the body and not be present at 3 months. This is similar to fat transfer in other areas of the body (buttocks, face, etc). At New Life Cosmetic Surgery we used platelet rich plasma (PRP) to help preserve as much fat as possible.
Dr. Lee feels the ideal candidate is one that desires to improve their upper or medial (inner) pole breast fullness, prefers not to have implants, and understands that final results may vary.
