Fat Injection or Implants for Breast Augmentation?

I had silicone breast implants that encapsulated. i then had the scar tissue removed and reinserted breast implant. My implants encapsulated again. i have been going to various doctors for a consults on breast lift and implant. I am more interested in my breast being fuller which becomes a problem with an A cup. Two doctors are steering me to the fat injection augmentation. Is this a reliable method? Another doctor said that I should try the implant again. What would you recommend?

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11 Doctor Answers | Asked by Ponchobeans in San Antonio, TX

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Fat transfer for breast augmentation

Hello and thank you for the question. As several of my colleagues have eluded to, fat transfer as an alternative to traditional breast augmentation remains in its experimental stages, as there are legitimate concerns with its use, and notably the fact that introducing fat into the breast may obscure future radiologic readings and hence potentially delay the diagnosis of an undetected breast cancer. The American Society of Plastic Surgery comments on this in their position paper... more

Breast augmentation with Fat grafting

Yes fat grafting is a reliable method to obtain breast augmentation. Your circumstances make you an excellent candidate for removal of implants and fat grafting. While many surgeons often were reluctant to perform fat grafting for breast augmentation because of fear in causing changes on mammograms. However, the changes that occur after fat grafting can be distinguished from those caused by breast cancer. Patients like yourself, ones with repeated complications due... more

Fat Grafting for Breast Augmentation

I am sorry to hear of your continued problems with capsular contracture. The only concern I have with fat grafting the breast in elective cosmetic surgery is that the grafted tissue can mimic breast cancer calcifications on mammogram. This can lead to much unnecessary anxiety for the patient and surgeon. I think fat grafting is an excellent tool in breast reconstruction after mastectomy, but I am still hesitant to use it in cosmetic surgery patients... more

Fat grafing for breast augmentation

The fat is aspirated from the abdomen or thighs using a syringe method or modified suction technique. The fat is typically purified and then transferred to smaller syringes where it is injected into the desired areas. The results are difficult to predict because "fat take" (the amount of fat which survives after being transferred) can vary anywhere from 20 to 80%. The success depends on several factors. It is like trying to predict how many seeds will sprout when you plant... more

Otto Joseph Placik, MD

32 reviews

Chicago Plastic Surgeon

The use of fat injection is another option

The use of fat grafting is another option for the breast enlargement. In your case the problem is the capsular contracture. I have done more than 40 patients that are implant failure patients. They had their implants removed and fat grafting is used to replace implant. The limiting factor is the size of the desired breast size . For the patients with silicone implants ,i would remove the implant and perform fat grafting in a later date. I have an ongoing study listed at clinicaltrial... more

Kamran Khoobehi, MD

28 reviews

New Orleans Plastic Surgeon

Breast augmentation or fat grafting

You have not stated what size implant you have at the current time. This makes an enormous difference. If you have quite large implants it would be difficult to make up the difference with fat. Fat grating for a lot of volume is quite time consuming in the operating room and you may not have enough to donate. I would still consider another implant surgery,.It is possible to revise implants and get good results if the procedure is done with meticulous technique and then postoperative... more

Fat grafting or breast implants?

As the other physicians suggested, fat grafting is really still in its infancy and while there may be many doctors performing the procedure, there are few that are really doing it well. I would recommend using silicone implants again but this time also using an acellular dermal matrix such as Strattice. This graft is placed between the implant and the capsule and has been shown to potentially reduce the risk for recurrent capsular contracture. I hope this helps!... more

Fat Injection for Breast Augmentation May Be Dangerous

While fat injection as an adjunct to various breast RECONSTRUCTION methods has gained relatively wide acceptance, the use of fat injection for COSMETIC AUGMENTATION is controversial at this time-some may even say experimental. According to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, "Concerns have been expressed regarding the potential that fat grafting to the breast may disrupt or delay diagnosis of breast cancer." This view is clearly expressed in the ASPS position paper,... more

Fat injection vs implants

Fat injection to augment the chest in my mind is still experimental. There are few studies on this in the literature most of which are on correcting contout deformities after breast reconstruction. Most patients desire breast volumes far in excess of what a fat injection procedure would offer.

Steven Wallach, MD

12 reviews

Manhattan Plastic Surgeon

Fat grafting for breast augmentation

Fat grafting for breast augmentation is certainly being evaluated as an option in a select group of patients. Sometimes going with smaller implants and using something called Alloderm will help to diminish the need for using fat grafting. Remember that fat grafting is not a time tested technique for breast augmentation as of yet. Good luck.

Fat injections to replace implants

I have not personally done fat injections to replace implants, but I have certainly seen beautiful results presented at recent meetings. If you go that route be sure to find someone with a fair amount of experience with the procedure.