How painful is the recovery time for breast fat transfer?

In my experience fat transfer to breasts can cause some sensitivity after surgery that can last a few weeks. Most of the discomfort is from the liposuctioning, which is worse with power-assisted or vaser liposuctioning than traditional suction-assisted lipectomy, and even more uncomfortable if you also treat the liposuctioned area with radiofrequency, such as Renuvion.

Dear JKI_212,
recovery after fat transfer should not be painful, especially with good pain management. If you are considering surgery, I would suggest you consult a board-certified plastic surgeon. Only after a thorough examination, you will get more information and recommendations.
Daniel Barrett, MDCertified, American Board of Plastic SurgeryMember, American Society of Plastic SurgeryMember, American Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery

The recovery depends on a number of factors. In our practice, we perform the procedure under complete local anesthesia with oral sedation and pain management. Being totally numb for the procedure sets the stage for less discomfort from the start. Fat is sculpted from your body. Those donor areas typically include the abdomen, flanks, waist, hips, and back for 360 approach. Other donor areas include the arms, thighs, and knees. The majority of our patients describe the donor areas as feeling sore like they exercised really hard. The breasts will feel tight once the fat is placed. The breast discomfort is again typically described as sore and is nothing like an augmentation with a breast implant. The first two days is a bit messy from the drainage that leaks out of the tiny skin openings. After your first shower on day 2, you'll feel much better. Most patients return to work in a few days. For example, the procedure is performed on a Wednesday or Thursday and you return to work on Monday. I encourage regular ibuprofen and you'll have prescription pain medicine available. We'll go over everything during the consultation.

Thank you for your inquiry! Typically, the most painful part of breast fat transfer is the area we will liposuction to get the fat. Usually around the umbilicus. Also, the breast will feel tight a couple of weeks. You would need to wear spanx and a support bra for a couple of weeks. Schedule a consultation with a Board-Certified Plastic Surgeon to help you reach your goals.

A fat transfer is surgery and most women do have some pain. The more painful part is the liposuction from where the fat was removed. Your surgeon will provide you with medication for the pain.

Recovery from breast to fat transfer is probably going to be more related to the Liposuction than the fat transfer.
Recognize that breast transfer is always two procedures done in conjunction.
The first is always Liposuction and the second is fat transfer.
Anytime you considering this procedure you need to vet your provider for both Liposuction and transfer skills.
Recovery after this procedure is not particularly difficult, but different people will perceive their recovery differently.
The degree of discomfort is also dependent on how aggressive the surgeon is during surgery.
People often describe the recovery of Liposuction as the same sensation of having significantly overdone exercise with muscle burning the following few days.
Typically, the first three days are the worst and after that it gets easier every day.
I generally recommend people take three days off work and a few more if they have physically demanding jobs.
There is no timeframe of recovery because recovery is a spectrum or ongoing process.
That said total final recovery at which point there will be no tenderness or physical changes whatsoever may be several months.
I will point out breast fat transfer is a fairly subtle procedure and many people are potentially disappointed by how little result.
In no way should breast fat transfer ever be compared to the results of implant augmentation.
Fat transfer can increase breast size by about 1/2 cup, but the procedure has virtually no impact on breast shape.
Many patients are disappointed because they anticipate that transfer can improve the shape of the breast which it really doesn’t.
on top of this the number of plastic surgeons who are excellent at this procedure including the ability to perform consistent quality liposuction results is relatively small.
For these reasons, I recommend patient move forward with this procedure with a bit of caution and focus extensive experience on provider selection, which in the end is the most important variable.
The recovery isn’t really that much of an issue.
Results, provider selection and potentially negative outcomes are far more important.
Best,
Mats Hagstrom MD