Fat Grafting
Fat Grafting
Fat grafting, also called autologous fat transfer, is emerging as a new breast reconstruction technique. In fat grafting, fat tissue is removed from other parts of your body – usually your thighs, belly, and buttocks — by liposuction. The tissue is then processed into liquid and injected into the breast area to recreate the breast.
Another form of fat grafting, called lipofilling, has been used for a number of years to fix minor differences in the shape, balance, or position of the reconstructed breast compared to the other breast. Since that has worked well, doctors thought they might be able to rebuild a whole breast using fat.
It can be tempting to think about fat grafting as a “safer” procedure, since it doesn’t involve major surgery. The studies that have been done involve fewer than 100 women and the average follow-up time is less than 4 years.
It’s also important to know that in many cases, the fat injected into the breast area may be reabsorbed by the body over time and the breast may lose some volume. This is why some plastic surgeons initially may add more fat than you think you need.
Benifits:
- It uses your own tissue instead of an implant.
- Fat is removed from an area where you don’t want it.
- Many women report that their fat-graft-reconstructed breast has some sensation and feels soft, much like the other
unreconstructed breast. - Need for second procedure
