Does transferred fat behave like the donor site or like the site that it is transferred to?

Hello. This is a question that is commonly asked by patients when discussing fat transfer to the breasts. Typically transferred fat will continue to behave as it would in the donor site. That is, you will notice an increase in size in the breast with weight gain as there are more fat cells there now and you will notice less of an increase in the abdomen (or other donor site) as there are less fat cells remaining. Many young women have more glandular and less fatty native breasts and that is typically why breast size does not fluctuate as much with weight change. When considering fat transfer to the breast please keep in mind that typically a modest size increase can be achieved with each transfer procedure and typically 60-70% of the transferred fat will survive. As such, if you are interested in a significant size increase you may require more than 1 transfer procedure (spaced apart 6 months or more) or you may consider a combination of breast augmentation with implants and fat.
Best Regards,
Dr. Zamani

As for all fat reduction or augmentation procedures, a more predictable long term shape improvement will occur if there a only minor fluctuations in your body fat content. A stable lifestyle, fitness level and weight should be the goal before any elective cosmetic surgery. We believe transferred fat cells retain their biological features - this includes their behaviour from the donor site.

One of the benefits of liposuction is that for increases in weight the areas to which fat was transferred will get larger and the areas that were liposuctioned will be less likely to get large. In a general sense, it is more difficult to gain weight on the areas that have been liposuctioned.