Losing weight after breast augmentation with fat transfer - will it impact my breasts?

Intellectual819779,
It would be helpful to know how much fat was transferred during your surgery. Most of your volume going from an A to a D cup if likely from the 350 cc implants themselves. A moderate weight loss of 10-15 pounds may result is some fat loss but should not dramatically change your cup size. You may notice some mild thinning of the skin which allows rippling or your implants to be more visible.
Dr Stein

Dear Intellectual819779,

if you lose weight after fat transfer, it will most likely also affect your breasts. You can discuss this with your plastic surgeon in case you have any questions.


Daniel Barrett, MD
Certified, American Board of Plastic Surgery
Member, American Society of Plastic Surgery
Member, American Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery

Answer from Dr. Sean Hill, Board-Certified Plastic Surgeon at Lone Star Plastic Surgery – Frisco, TX:
This is a great and very common question, especially for patients who are on a wellness journey or considering future weight loss after surgery.
The short answer is: yes, weight loss can affect your breast augmentation results, but how much depends on a few key factors.
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Fat transfer is sensitive to changes in weight. Transferred fat cells are vulnerable to weight loss and can shrink in response. The effect is loss of volume in grafted areas.

As with any procedure. the best time to consider surgery is when a patient has reached a healthy (BMI less than 30) stable weight. This ensures a lower risk of complications as well as longevity of result.

With regards to your specific question, it is impossible to predict the results of weight loss with any certainty. Weight loss of 5-7 lbs. is unlikely to make a significant difference in result. 10-15 lbs. is more likely to be noticeable. There is no guarantee breast volume will remain stable while total body fat is otherwise reduced.

As always, discuss your concerns with a board certified plastic surgeon (ABPS).

Since your implants are under the muscle, you are less likely to see/feel rippling compared to if the implants were on top of the muscle. Other factors to consider are how much native breast tissue you have, how much fat was transferred to the breasts, and where exactly in the breast the fat was transferred. Based on the information you provided, your BMI is 20.8. Since you started at a size A before your augmentation, I would venture that you had only a modest amount of native breast volume before surgery.
Taking everything into consideration, with 10-15 lbs weight loss and implants being under the muscle, I wouldn't worry too much about developing a "deflated" appearance or significant rippling. With the weight loss, you might notice a slight decrease in the size of the breasts from lose of volume from your native breast tissue and transferred fat, but it shouldn't make a drastic difference. With that amount of weight loss, your breasts might "appear" larger when you compare them to your current body proportions, but since the majority of your volume comes from the 350cc implant, weight loss could make the actual total breast volume (implant + native breast tissue + transferred fat) decrease.

Weight loss can cause a reduction in the size of the breasts especially since you had fat transfer. Obviously the implant itself will not change with weight loss. A decrease of 10 to 15 pounds isn't likely to produce a significant change to the breasts, but it may produce a minimal difference.