Breast Augmentation Using Patient’s Own Fat May Be Viable
November 7, 2023 - Rhys Branman, MD
A new study reported successful breast augmentations using a patients’ own fat through a process called fat grafting. During fat grafting, fat cells are harvested via liposuction from one part of the body and injected into another.
While fat grafting for breast augmentation has been a relatively obscure procedure, new studies, such as this one, present some evidence that it could be effective and have long-term results for breast enhancement.
The study by Daniel Del Vecchio, MD, and Louis Bucky, MD, was conducted over a two-year period with 25 patients who had breast enhancement with fat grafting. The study’s authors stressed the importance of patient selection and external pre-expansion of the breasts for the success of the procedure.
Prior to the procedure, all patients were photographed and had intravenous contrast MRI and/or 3D breast imaging, followed by three weeks of expansion, such as wearing a suction bra every day. Six months after the procedure, patients were again photographed and had the other breast imaging tests.
Six months after surgery all patients had visible breast volume increase, with a mean volume increase of 250 cc per breast.
The authors concluded that this technique can be “performed in a time efficient manner with reproducible, long-lasting results.”
“While the procedure is gaining scientific validity and traction among plastic surgeons, it is not the same as having breast enlargement with implants,” noted a release by the American Society of Plastic Surgeons. The study was presented at the society’s annual scientific meeting.
In the past there have been concerns about the procedure because some of the side effects such as oil cysts, calcification and tissue scarring were difficult to distinguish mammographically between calcifications associated with breast cancer vs. those associated with fat transfer. More recently, however, radiology literature suggests that new generations of mammography equipment, especially digital mammography, are better able to distinguish cancer cells from benign ones. View the study’s abstract online.
