Can lipo to breast fat transfer be performed under IV or local?

Question

I am interested in having fat transferred from my love handle area to the breast. Can this be performed without having to go under general anesthesia? Also, does the way fat is harvested affect the quality of the fat that can transferred?

Winfield Hartley, MD - Account Suspended · Answer

Fat transfer can certainly be performed under sedation in an office based OR or ambulatory surgery center.  Choose someone is very experienced with this type of anesthesia.  As for the means of fat harvest, there are many different opinions on harvesting techniques and graft preparation.  Again, I would choose a board certified plastic surgeon with a good deal of experience in this area in order to get the safest and most reliable results.  Best of luck.

Anna I. Wooten, MD, FACS · Answer

Thanks for your question.  I perform all of my fat transfer surgeries under general anesthesia because I can get the best liposuction results when the patient is asleep.  Even though the tumescent fluid has numbing medicine in it, the patient can still feel some pain if awake.  I can give the best results with the most comfort when the patient is asleep.  Be sure to see a board certified plastic surgeon who has done a lot of these procedures in order to have the expertise to give you the best results.  Best of luck.

Tracy E. McCall, MD · Answer

Fat transfer can be done under local anesthesia. It all depends on the patient and what they can tolerate. This is something to talk about with your surgeon. The American Society of Plastic Surgeons is specific on where we should operate to be safe surgeons. These are good guidelines and should be followed. If you are getting IV sedation you should be in an accredited facility. Costs a bit more, but this is appropriate. You will hear lots of answers on the harvested question. I will quote the great Dr. Russell, who said that "when there is more than one way of doing something no one way is best." There are plenty of different ways of collecting the fat. Some things make a difference and some things don't. There have been some nice articles examining the various methods of washing and preparing the fat for grafting that show no significant difference between the methods. There are other articles that support one method or another. I don't think you can reasonably demand one method as best at this time. Remember, fat transfer is often a multiple stage procedure. A fair amount of what you inject gets resorbed, and this is different in different people. It is harder to be as accurate with the volume in fat grafting than it is with the volume in an implant augmentation. Get a consultation from a board certified plastic surgeon and talk over the specifics of your case. There are plenty of qualified surgeons in Atlanta.

Joshua A. Halpern, MD, PA · Answer

Thank you for your question.
I like to perform this procedure under LMA. MA stands for Mass Anesthesia the patient is inhaling anesthetic acids. The patient is asleep but is not paralyzed. The patient is breathing on their own. If this procedure is performed under IV sedation, there is a chance that in order to make the patient comfortable during surgery, they may receive too much IV anesthesia which could result in a patient not being able to breath. I personally believe that performing LMA for this procedure is safer for the patient. I use a machine that harvest the fat, cleans the fat and prepares the fat for injection in a very sterile manner. This helps in providing biable fat and minimizes the chance of infection. Surgery typically takes less than one and a half hours. I hope you find this information useful.

Melek Kayser, MD (retired) · Answer

Thank you for your question. Although it is feasible to have IV sedation with fat transfer, this would probably be more uncomfortable during the injection process. During the harvesting a fat, a solution called tumescence, which does contain numbing medicine, is introduced into the area where the fat is retrieved. This numbing medicine is actually partially transferred with the fat into the recipient site during injection but does not allow a reduction in pain upon the initial injection. There are certain nerve blocks that can be used to help decrease the discomfort but there are risks as well which would include puncturing the lung or pneumothorax.Fat transfer is technique dependent and does vary from surgeon to surgeon so I would certainly recommend a consultation with a board-certified plastic surgeon who is experienced in many aspects of fat transfer. I hope this helps and have a wonderful day. Dr. Kayser - Detroit

Can lipo to breast fat transfer be performed under IV or local?

Answers (5)

Answer: LMA/Fat Transfer

Answer: LMA/Fat Transfer

Answer: Dr Kayser

Answer: Dr Kayser

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Everything you need to know about Breast Fat Transfer

Our mission is to create a world where every investment in modern beauty is Worth It.

Can lipo to breast fat transfer be performed under IV or local?

Answers (5)

Answer: LMA/Fat Transfer

Answer: LMA/Fat Transfer

Answer: Dr Kayser

Answer: Dr Kayser

Browse related questions

Recommended reading

Everything you need to know about Breast Fat Transfer

Our mission is to create a world where every investment in modern beauty is Worth It.