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Fat Grafting To Breasts – Which Parts Of Your Body Can Be Liposuction Sites?
fat transfer to breast- which parts of your body can be liposuction sites

Fat Grafting To Breasts – Which Parts Of Your Body Can Be Liposuction Sites?

Fat grafting of the breasts is becoming an increasingly popular procedure for its ability to enhance breast size without the use of any foreign material. This natural way of increasing the breast size has been slowly gaining attention not only because it is an ‘au naturale’ enhancement procedure, but it also helps to sculpt other areas of the body where fat is taken from.

In this article, we dive into more details so you get a better understanding of how fat grafting to the breast can help you achieve your beauty goals by killing two birds with one stone.

What Is Breast Fat Grafting?

In fat grafting of the breasts, the excess fat cells are removed from one part of your body through a procedure called liposuction. The fat cells are also purified before being injected into the breast tissue.

what is fat transfer to breast

An ideal candidate for breast grafting surgery is one with a small-sized breast with an abundant amount of fat deposits all over the body. It is also recommended for women whose breasts are depressed, asymmetrical, have tuberous breasts, or have mild breast deflation after breastfeeding.

Fat grafting is a suitable procedure for people who want a less drastic and instantaneous result. It may also be opted by those who do not want to augment their breasts using a foreign body. Furthermore, these individuals should also be ready to accept realistic results and increments of one to one and a half cup size.

How Much Fat Is Required For Breast Fat Grafting?

In order to experience visible size increments from the fat grafting procedure, one needs to have enough available fat cells to achieve the desired results. The amount of fat needed to produce results varies and is usually dependent on the person’s body proportions, current breast size, and aesthetic goals. For instance, a 300cc increment on a petite female may be substantial enough to see results, but that would hardly make any difference for someone with a bigger or wider build.

Breast fat grafting usually requires much more fat because the area of treatment is larger and more fat has to be injected to counter the reabsorption that happens after the procedure. Most procedures harvest at least 1,000 millilitres of pure fat, so if one is on the lean side or if they are expecting huge increments in size, they may not qualify for fat grafting of the breasts.

In cases where the patient does not have enough fat, the plastic surgeon may recommend breast implants over fat grafting or combine both techniques to achieve desired results. Implants will give it the overall size enhancement, and fat grafting can be used to enhance the cleavage or provide additional coverage to conceal the appearance of the implants.

Which Areas Can Liposuction Harvest Fat For Breast Fat Grafting?

areas for liposuction

In order to graft fat to the breast, fat tissues must first be extracted from a donor area through a procedure called liposuction. These are some of the areas where fat is frequently harvested from:

  • Abdomen
  • Flanks (Love Handles)
  • Thighs
  • Buttocks
  • Upper arms

How Is The Procedure Performed?

The fat grafting procedure is performed by harvesting the fat from one part of the body, after which it is washed and purified.  It is then reinjected precisely into the region which needs augmentation, using special needles. However, there is a possibility that the desired result may not be reached after the first procedure, and it may need to be repeated. The fat grafting procedure can take approximately 2 to 5 hours, depending on each individual case.

Fat grafting procedure can be further divided into three major steps, which include: The harvest, purification, and then placement into the body.

how does fat grafting work

Harvestings

With the help of your surgeon, you will select a site for fat removal. Your surgeon will then inject the area with a local anaesthetic and make a small incision for fat removal. Then by using a sterile technique, the surgeon will insert a cannula connected to a syringe to carefully extract fat. This process is called liposuction.

Purification and Transfer

Once the required amount of fat is obtained from the donor area, your surgeon will process the fat cells to transfer them in small syringes that will be later used for fat injection. A centrifuge may be required for the purification process to spin the fat and remove impurities prior to injection.

Placement

The area chosen to receive the graft will then be prepared. Your surgeon will insert a needle into the incision point of the site that is being augmented. With the help of a cannula, fatty tissue parcels will be carefully deposited in natural tissue planes. This process will be repeated multiple times until the desired correction will be achieved. After the end of the procedure, the surgeon might place a dressing or bandage over the grafted area. The goal of your aesthetic plastic surgeon and team is to satisfy you and make sure your surgical experience is as easy and comfortable as possible. They also want to make sure that you achieve beautiful and natural-looking results after the procedure.

Benefits Of Breast Fat Grafting

The procedure causes a modest increase in the size of the breast using fat that is taken from your own body. Since the procedure uses a person’s own fat, which is biocompatible to the body, it decreases the risk of an allergic reaction or rejection. In addition to the increased volume of the breasts, patients also benefit from body contouring in areas from where the fat is removed via liposuction. Another benefit is that the breasts look and feel completely natural, and the results are long-lasting. A breast fat graft also helps in adding volume to the upper portion of a breast as it is difficult to fill up this region with a flap or implant. As compared to other procedures, the scars after breast grafting are very minimal. (1)

What To Expect After The Procedure? How Long Will The Results Last?

Usually, after fat grafting, around 50–70% of cells survive after the transfer procedure. Because of that, the surgeon often injects extra fat that may be needed during the surgery to compensate for the portion that will not survive after grafting. The transferred fat needs to adapt to its new location and relies on the development of blood vessels for blood supply to the fat cells. The harvested fat contains stem cells that help in reducing the reabsorption process and enhances the fat graft results.

Fat cells that survive the grafting process remain in that area permanently. However, the fat cells respond to weight fluctuations, and they can expand and contract in size, which affects the results after the procedure. Hence, by maintaining a healthy lifestyle and preventing major weight fluctuations, one can enjoy the fat grafting results for a long time.

How Much Does The Procedure Cost?

The cost of the procedure can vary. It will depend on the number of areas for liposuction, surgeon’s experience, anaesthesia, facility, medication, and post-procedure follow-up reviews. Fat grafting in Singapore generally ranges from $3500 to $5500 for smaller areas and up to $15,000 for large areas.

How To Select A Surgeon?

You should carefully select your surgeon after detailed research and with a clear mind. It is important to choose a surgeon you are comfortable with. Always make sure that it is done by a licensed plastic surgeon who is also undergoing continuous medical education and training. The surgeon should be up to date with the latest techniques and methods that are used in the field of plastic surgery.

Knowing Suitable Liposuction Sites For Fat Grafting To Breasts

Fat Grafting of the Breast is a highly popular procedure and is worth every penny if your surgeon is experienced and can help you attain your desired results. It’s a safe procedure with a shorter recovery time, but it’s not ideal for individuals wanting larger volume increments. If you are hoping to be at least two cup sizes bigger, then this may not be the right option for you. You also need to keep in mind that your body may reabsorb the fat, which will affect your breasts decrease over time. So this can be an ideal option for women who are looking for a relatively minor enlargement of their breast without the use of artificial implants.

About Dream Aesthetics and Plastic Surgery

Bespoke surgical for cosmetic or medical reasons is what Dream covers to bring out the beauty in every individual. Going beyond the aesthetics and working on physical anomalies are what we value the most in leading our patients to cherish self-improvement and confident lifestyles.

Derived from Associate Professor Vincent Yeow’s long-standing experience performing plastic surgery in Singapore, our treatment plans deliver physical remodelling in our patients’ favour. One of the notable remodellings is droopy eyelid correction. The ptosis surgery used for treatment eventually fixes drooping eyelids, improves vision and enhances appearance.

Most importantly, as a trustworthy plastic surgery and aesthetic clinic, we treasure positive and natural outcomes for each individual. We will ensure to deliver the beauty refinement of your dream without compromising your safety and privacy.

 

References:

1.Salibian, Ara A. MD; Frey, Jordan D. MD; Bekisz, Jonathan M. MD; Choi, Mihye MD; Karp, Nolan S. MD Fat Grafting and Breast Augmentation: A Systematic Review of Primary Composite Augmentation, Plastic, and Reconstructive Surgery – Global Open: July 2019 – Volume 7 – Issue 7 – p e2340. doi: 10.1097/GOX.0000000000002340
2.Emmanuel Delay, MD, Sebastian Garson, MD, Gilles Tousson, MD, Raphael Sinna, MD, Fat Injection to the Breast: Technique, Results, and Indications Based on 880 Procedures Over 10 Years, Aesthetic Surgery Journal, Volume 29, Issue 5, September 2009, Pages 360–376, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.asj.2009.08.010