Fat Graft Breast Augmentation – Melbourne

Why consider fat graft breast augmentation surgery?  |  Consultation  |  Patient FAQ's

Autologous fat graft breast augmentation (fat injection) is a surgical technique offered at NorthEast Plastic Surgery Melbourne to achieve breast enlargement.

The technique can be performed as day case surgery, involving incisions that are typically 3-5 mm long and is associated with a recovery time of approximately one to two weeks.

Risks of fat graft surgery

Fat grafting is a surgical procedure that involves using liposuction to extract fat from a donor site, which is then prepared and injected into the targeted area. As with all surgeries, there are general risks, such as complications related to anesthesia and wound healing, which will be thoroughly explained during your consultation at NorthEast Plastic Surgery Melbourne. Additionally, there are specific risks associated with fat grafting, including potential damage to the areas where fat is harvested or injected. Your surgeon will address these concerns, as well as discuss long-term risks such as fat graft loss, contour irregularities, fat necrosis, or the formation of oil cysts.

Why consider fat graft breast augmentation surgery?

Patients who have undergone fat graft breast surgery at NorthEast Plastic Surgery Melbourne have sought to:

• Enlarge their breast size, shape and projection with or without the use of breast implants

Autologous fat graft surgery can be considered when seeking one to two cup breast size augmentation with permanent and natural enhancement of breast volume and shape.

Autologous fat graft breast augmentation avoids risks associated with silicone breast implants such as visible rippling, edge palpability and visibility. The risk of revisional surgery to address implant malposition, rupture or capsular contracture is also avoided. The risk of Breast Implant Associated Anaplastic Large Cell Lymphoma is eliminated when breast enhancement is performed using your own tissue without the use of implants.

Where a significant breast enlargement is sought in excess of one to two cup sizes, fat graft surgery can be used in conjunction with implants to augment soft tissue cover of the upper pole of the breasts in very thin patients or cleavage in patients who have an anatomically wide sternum. Fat graft surgery may be used as an adjunct to breast augmentation using implants in these circumstances.

• Combine fat grafting with breast lift or mastopexy surgery

Augmentation mastopexy using autologous fat grafting is a technique offered at NorthEast Plastic Surgery Melbourne. It has been used to address breast ptosis whilst simultaneously adding volume. Patients have undergone this type of surgery following pregnancy, breast feeding and weight loss.

The breast lift surgery repositions the breast volume and nipple areolar complexes and fat grafting is used to augment cleavage and upper pole fullness. The combination of two techniques can create an augmented breast appearance without use of implants.

This one step technique avoids the need for two step augmentation mastopexy surgery using implants which may be necessary to avoid the risk of nipple necrosis. The reason is that fat graft augmentation avoids the need for implant pocket creation.

• Breast fat augmentation combined with breast implant removal.

The Surgeons of NorthEast Plastic Surgery Melbourne have much experience with breast implant removal including total (“en bloc”) capsulectomy. Where appropriate, this can be undertaken in combination with fat grafting of the breasts to enlarge breast volume using the patient’s own fat tissue.

Patients who seek this surgery often either wish to avoid ongoing surgery related to having breast implants or have experienced issues with their implants including pain or symptoms they attribute to their breast implants commonly referred to as Breast Implant Illness (BII).

Whilst there is no known scientific association of silicone implants with these systemic symptoms, at NorthEast Plastic Surgery Melbourne, we respect a patient’s choice to remove their implants.

• Breast reconstruction following mastectomy surgery

Patients who have undergone mastectomy surgery followed by breast reconstruction using implants alone, in combination with fat grafting or using fat grafting techniques alone have achieved satisfactory outcomes at NorthEast Plastic Surgery Melbourne.

The autologous fat grafting in these patients has the ability to augment breasts selectively and where required, as determined by the mastectomy. Unlike implants which are largely pre-determined in shape, volume and projection, the fat graft can be precisely injected to address contour defects.

• Correction of congenital breast asymmetry

The Surgeons of NorthEast Plastic Surgery have experience in the treatment of developmental breast asymmetry using a combination of techniques including autologous fat grafting tailored to meet specific aesthetic requirements.

In younger patients for whom the scar burden of breast implant surgery can be a concern, fat graft surgery which involves a series of 3-5 mm scars may be more acceptable.

Why consider NorthEast Plastic Surgery Melbourne for breast augmentation using autologous fat injection?

The Surgeons of NorthEast Plastic Surgery Melbourne are experienced at fat graft breast augmentation surgery also known as autologous fat injection surgery and have achieved outcomes for patients seeking to augment their breasts naturally.

Autologous fat grafting means using a patient’s own fat deposits to achieve a secondary purpose elsewhere in the body. Whilst this may be in the form of breast augmentation, the Surgeons of NorthEast Plastic Surgery Melbourne also have expertise of its use in faces and to address contour defects elsewhere.

Like all grafts used in plastic surgery, the success of fat graft breast augmentation is dependent upon the degree of fat graft “take”. In practical terms, this is the proportion of fat which survives long term to achieve an aesthetic goal.

The key to fat graft take includes surgical technique and patient factors such as the history of cigarette smoking, quality of available fat stores at the “donor sites” and degree of scarring of the recipient site where the fat is grafted.

At NorthEast Plastic Surgery Melbourne, achieving successful fat graft breast augmentation involves a treatment protocol comprising careful patient assessment and optimised treatment process.

The consultation process comprises:

• Comprehensive patient assessment to establish the goals of surgery regarding breast size, shape and projection.
• Aims to identify potential pitfalls such as cigarette smoking which may be modified to optimise fat graft take.
• Aims to identify factors which may cause problems at the donor site such as blood thinning medication.
• Examination to identify suitable potential fat graft donor sites to yield the necessary material and also minimise volume fluctuations with weight changes. The examination will also to a degree focus on body re-shaping, as liposuction techniques are used to harvest fat from the donor sites.
• Careful counselling regarding realistic expectations of fat graft breast augmentation.

The NorthEast Plastic Surgery Melbourne three step treatment protocol aims to optimise fat graft breast surgery outcomes by:

• Careful pre-operative attention to optimising conditions for fat transfer.
• Careful application of surgical techniques to optimise grafted fat cell “take”.
• Careful advice regarding the post operative aftercare instructions aimed at optimising long term fat graft survival.

Patient FAQ’s include

Is fat graft breast augmentation surgery safe?

Fat grafting is a surgical technique which utilises your own fat cells, but like any surgical procedure it involves risks which will be explained to you during your consultation and also provided in writing during the consent process.

What happens to the fat which fails to take as a graft?

The fat graft cells which fail to successfully acquire a blood supply will not survive and are usually resorbed and removed by your body. However if larger volumes of transferred fat merge into a single area this can result in the fat turning into oil and forming an oil cyst. Such a cyst can feel firm or even hard. It may require further treatment including surgery or aspiration.

Will I be able to breast feed after fat graft surgery?

The ability to breast feed after fat graft breast augmentation should not be affected. When the fat graft cells are placed within the breast tissue the surgical technique does not disrupt breast tissues necessary for lactation.

Will nipple sensation be affected after fat injection surgery?

Breast and nipple sensation should not be affected after fat injection surgery unlike breast implant surgery where nipple sensation can be affected.

Will I be able to “feel” the fat graft?
Fat grafted breasts can feel firm but the injected fat integrates with your existing breast tissue, creating a soft, natural feel that closely resembles your own breast tissue.

Can I have mammograms and breast ultrasound studies after fat graft surgery?
Routine mammography and ultrasound studies can be performed after fat graft surgery with accurate imaging of the breasts in respect of the diagnosis of breast cancers. Having fat graft breast augmentation should not prevent the ability to detect breast cancers with imaging techniques.

When will I know if the fat graft surgery has been successful?
The fat graft, like all grafts are considered to have successfully taken once a blood supply has been established. Given a degree of breast swelling can be expected after any surgical procedure, the degree of fat graft take is best appreciated several weeks after surgery.

Significant weight loss should be avoided during and after this period to optimise longevity of aesthetic outcome.

Second Opinion

Mr Patrick Tansley MD FRCS (Plast) and Dr Sugitha Seneviratne FRACS (Plast) provide second opinion consultations to patients seeking to address problems following fat grafting surgery performed elsewhere including revisional or corrective surgery. If you would like a second opinion on previously undertaken surgery, book a consultation to discuss this with one or both of our surgeons.