Fat Grafts Help Contour Breasts

August 14, 2006 -

Breast implant surgery is the second most sought after surgery in the United States. Still, not all women want strictly to increase the size of their breasts. Some merely want to enhance the shape. Fat grafting offers women that option.

The idea of using one's own fat to increase the size of the breasts has long appealed to women, especially since it offers the added benefit of minimizing stubborn fatty areas below the waist.

In 1987, the procedure was abandoned over concerns of potential side effects such as cysts, tissue scarring, and calcification. However, recent research has shown the safety and effectiveness of the breast “lipomodeling,” and many are expecting its resurgence.

Dr. Sydney Coleman was one plastic surgeon who never abandoned the prospect of using fat to enhance the shape of breasts. For years, he and numerous others in the field refined and improved the technique.

Now, with the help of more precise breast imaging technology and fat grafting skills, surgeons are able to use the procedure as an adjunct, rather than a replacement, for breast implants.

According to Coleman, fat grafts are good for “getting enough soft tissue to cover implants and to correct contracture of implants. If you put an implant in, you can put fat around it. It will become the norm. It won't replace implants, but it will be an operation performed commonly.”

The procedure may also prove helpful in breast reconstruction surgeries, particularly with regard to repairing tissue damaged by cancer treatment. “We found that if you place fat under damaged tissue from radiation, it appears to provide new blood supply and heal the area,” Coleman said.

Not all surgeons are qualified to perform the procedure. “You've got to go to someone who understands how to make fat live. It's a matter of injecting carefully and slowly. You can't just squirt it in,” he added.

Considering breast augmentation? Please contact us to learn more or to locate a board certified plastic surgeon near you.