Will breasts regain volume after blood supply is established in retained fat after transfer?

Question

I had a fat transfer to my breast and as expected lost some of the fat. I was wondering if my breast will regain some volume once the new blood supply is established in the retained fat?

Alan Gonzalez, MD, FACS · Answer

Hello @Reliable557674, thank you for your question. It depends a lot on the fat seeding technique used by the doctor performing the surgery. Is probable that you will nor regain volume. Best wishes! Alan Gonzalez MD, FACS. International Federation for Adipose Therapeutics and Science” Member (IFATS), American Society of Plastic Surgery Member (ASPS), Colombian Society of Plastic Surgery member (SCCP)

Irena Karanetz, MD · Answer

Hello, 
And thank you for the question.
Following removal of breast implants without replacement, a patient may choose one of two options: do nothing and see how much the skin retracts or undergo fat transfer to the breasts at the same time. 
Fat transfer is usually done through tiny incisions with minimal scarring and often more than one session is necessary to achieve the desired results. It also allows improvement of contour in the areas where the liposuction is performed in order to harvest the fat for transfer.
About 50-70% of transferred fat will generally survive after the surgery. The fat that does survive will act like normal fat as it's permanent but will also grow with weight gain.
I suggest that you seek an in person consultation with a Board-Certified Plastic Surgeon specializing in Breast surgeries to further discuss your options, specific techniques, concerns and expectations. Make sure you specifically look at before and after pictures of real patients who have had this surgery performed by your surgeon and evaluate their results. 
I hope this helps.
Best, Dr. Karanetz
Dr. Irena KaranetzBreast Fellowship TrainedBoard Certified Plastic Surgeon

Daniel Barrett, MD · Answer

Dear Thriving100823,
fat viability depends a lot of surgeon technique. The fat has to be placed back into the buttocks as soon as possible so that it has a greater chance of survival. It has to be placed carefully so that not too much fat is placed in only one area. It is unlikely that your breasts will increase in size. 
Daniel Barrett, MD
Certified, American Board of Plastic Surgery
Member, American Society of Plastic Surgery
Member, American Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery

Connie Hiers, MD, FACS · Answer

No, what fat survived is all the fat you will have unless you add more fat or gain weight to increase the size of your breasts. You can always have implants.

Daniel Schmid, MD · Answer

Once volume is lost in fat transfer it never returns.  It is usual to lose 40-50% of the volume of fat injected.

Victoria Aimé, MD · Answer

Hello! Unfortunately, the answer to this is no. The fat itself that has grown in a blood supply will stay as is. The exception to this is if you gain weight, the fat in your breasts will gain too and if you lose weight, the fat in your breast will as well. The breast tissue itself can change in volume (i.e. gains volume with pregnancy and loses volume with aging). It is not uncommon for women to undergo more than one fat transfer to the breasts to achieve the size and shape they desire. Typically it takes ~3 months to know how much fat will take after fat grafting.Hope this helps,Dr. Victoria Aimé

Douglas Taranow, DO, FACOS · Answer

Generally speaking, whatever volume you have left in your breasts at 6 months is the final size of your breasts.  They will not enlarge with time unless you gain weight (and even this is not a constant).
Best wishes.
Dr. Taranow

Mats Hagstrom, MD (license on probation) · Answer

Neovascularization or the ingrowth of budding capillaries into grafted tissues begins within a few days after the procedure.
The majority of fat cells undergo necrosis and will be absorbed by the patient’s immune system.
The ones that survive will retain their volume while the others continue to shrink.
There’s no second bump any increased volume down the road but rather a continuous loss of volume until the results has stabilized between three and six months after the procedure.
For most patients results are very close to final by three months but there may be very subtle continued volume loss for as long as six months after the procedure.
Delivering consistent quality predictable liposuction and fat transfer results is more difficult than most people believe.
Success with the procedure is highly technique dependent as well as based on quality of patient candidacy.
The biggest variable is generally the amount and quality of host tissue to support the grafted fat but how the fat is grafted is paramount. Fat needs to be grafted in the stratified manner three dimensionally.
Results are often quite subtle but in the hands of an experienced surgeon breast volume can be doubled and this often delivers typically 1/2 cup increase in breast size occasionally patient will describe it as one cup.
Fat transfer can increase volume but does not change the shape of the breast in any significant manner.
Best,
Mats Hagstrom MD

Will breasts regain volume after blood supply is established in retained fat after transfer?

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