Fat Injections for Breast Augmentation?

By Dr. Surjit Rai

At the upcoming annual meeting of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) in Chicago, a group of surgeons are planning a presentation about using fat injections (also called fat grafts) for breast augmentation. They were chosen earlier as a task force to study fat injections for this use.

Fat injections have been used for years as part of breast reconstruction after a mastectomy. But they are new to cosmetic use and there is not a lot of research on their effectiveness or safety.

The ASPS task force is reported to be stopping short of recommending fat grafts for augmentation, instead suggesting that they be tried. They are known to be effective in softening the appearance of implants but not as breast augmentation by themselves. There is also some concern about them interfering with detection of breast cancer.

ASPS Task Force Findings

After studying 110 published studies, the plastic surgeons have concluded that:

• Fat grafts can be used for reconstruction of breasts, hands, and face, and for cosmetic breast augmentation, but there are no standardized techniques
• For lack of sufficient data, no specific recommendations can be made about their use in breast augmentation
• There is so far no increased risk of breast cancer connected with fat grafts
• Data suggests fat grafts may interfere with breast exams but not with mammograms
• More studies are needed

Two Trials Recruiting Volunteers

Two clinical trials are now seeking women volunteers for fat graft breast enlargement.

• One is seeking just 20 women aged 20 to 50 to have liposuction for obtaining fat to use in fat grafts for the breasts.
• The other is planning to use fat grafts in conjunction with the Brava system of breast enhancement, which is a method of stimulating the natural breast tissue to grow. It uses special domes worn over the breasts for a few hours each day

At the Cosmetic Surgical Center we offer more established breast augmentation procedures which have been thoroughly tested and proved. Well-planned implants will give you a predictable result based on your goals, for far less cost than augmentation through fat injections.

To learn more about breast implants, please see our pages on Breast Augmentation Surgery Options. If you would like a consultation with Dr. Rai, please contact our office today.