Fat Transfer to Breasts

Fat transfer to breasts or fat transfer breast augmentation also known as ‘breast lipofilling’ is a cosmetic surgery procedure performed to enlarge the breast size using your body’s own fat harvested using liposuction. Fat transfer breast enlargement differs from breast augmentation surgery with implants as it does not use a foreign implant and is therefore also known as a ‘natural breast augmentation’.

What is breast augmentation with fat transfer?

The first step in fat transfer breast augmentation or fat transfer to the breast is to harvest fat using liposuction from areas of the body which have fat deposits. The great advantage of fat transfer breast enlargement is that it is essentially a 2 in 1 procedure. You get the benefit of naturally enlarged breasts using your own fat and a more contoured body with the use of liposuction from the donor fat areas.

With the use of your own fat, there is also a reduced risk of infection as silicone breast implants inserted as part of a breast augmentation procedure have a slight rate of infection. The scars after fat transfer breast enlargement are also much less compared with breast augmentation using implants.

Centre for Surgery offer state-of-the-art digital imaging software to give you a more accurate idea of how you could look after surgery. This helps you to make a more informed decision as to whether fat transfer breast enlargement is the right procedure for you.

If a woman’s breasts don’t match up to or don’t satisfy her expectations, it often becomes a serious cause of concern. Breasts are a very important feature of a woman’s overall appearance, her body shape and her personality. If a woman’s breasts are too small (micromastia), it can result in significant psychological issues.

Often after pregnancy and breastfeeding, women’s breasts tend to sag. Ageing also leads to sagging or shrunken breasts. In these cases, can fat transfer can be a good solution. If one has to undergo mastectomy, then breast fat transfer can be used to regain her natural body shape. If the two breasts are unequal, then fat transfer can be done for one breast to optimise symmetry.

All our surgeons are on the GMC specialist register.

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What is included in my fat transfer to breasts treatment package?

• As many preoperative consultations with your surgeon as you like to make sure the procedure is right for you
• Treatment at a specialist day surgery facility recently rated ‘Good’ by the CQC
• Enhanced same day discharge with the added benefits of recovering in your own home
• 24/7 clinical support from your surgeon for first 48 hours and our expert postoperative support team
• Your very own dedicated patient coordinator
• In-depth preoperative medical assessment to make sure you are fully fit for your procedure
• Exceptionally high standards of postoperative care described as ‘outstanding’ by the CQC with regular telephone and face to face checks

RealSelf Top Doctors for breast fat transfer surgery

RealSelf top doctor status is awarded to less than 10% of the RealSelf doctor community.  This status is earned by achieving consistently high patient satisfaction (from RealSelf reviews), getting excellent feedback on expert answers to patient questions, and after investing significant time in Q&A and other doctor activity. RealSelf top doctors are rated among the very best surgeons in the United Kingdom and USA.

• Over 15 years experience in all types of breast fat transfer – large volume aesthetic, small volume reconstructive and hybrid breast augmentation
• We own and manage our own surgical facilities. Properly performed fat transfer to breasts procedure takes time and should not be rushed. Our surgeons perform a maximum of one fat transfer procedure in a day. We do not cram 3-4 procedures into one day like other providers.
• Our surgeons live and work in the UK. This is very important because whilst your surgeon takes all precautions to minimise complications, complications can and do occur and our surgeons are readily available to manage any issues if and when they arise.

Our surgeons are known for their artistry and strive to help women to natural and beautiful breasts. Our surgeons believe that the key to a successful outcome after a boob lift is the surgeon-patient relationship. Before committing to proceed with a clinical decision, your surgeon will spend time getting to know about personal goals and preferences in detail. This might sometimes require a second follow-up consultation. Our surgeons provide the safest and most natural looking breast implant procedures in London, the south-east and the UK.

The top UK surgeons for fat transfer to breasts

All our surgeons are fully qualified and experienced plastic surgeons with the skill to perform all types of aesthetic breast surgery.

Our surgeons are full members of:

How to choose your plastic surgeon

At Centre for Surgery in London, our surgeons take great pride in what they do as the UK’s leading centre for fat transfer procedures and all would agree that obtaining amazing feedback is the most satisfying part of their work.

Breast augmentation with fat transfer can also be performed as a viable alternative to breast implant surgery. Surgeons at Centre for Surgery are also trained in combining breast fat transfer with breast implants in one procedure. This is also known as hybrid or composite breast augmentation.

There are many patients who would like to achieve a natural-looking result which often requires the use of smaller-sized breast implants but would also like to optimise their cleavage. A wider gap between the breasts is often an issue in leaner patients who have breast implants alone. These cases are often ideal for fat transfer breast augmentation following the insertion of breast implants. The injected fat into the breasts helps to reduce the gap between the breasts and also helps to improve the natural cleavage without the requirement for very large implants which carry risks of their own. Composite breast augmentation using both fat transfer and breast implants allows for a very natural-looking result and feel of the breasts due to that that has been removed via liposuction and has been injected around the implants.

Advantages of Breast fat transfer

• Use of foreign material not involved
• Can increase size by one cup size
• Fat removal is part of the procedure
• Incisions involved are small and fades away over time
• Does not carry the risk of rupture or capsular contracture
• A decrease in any sensation is very unlikely

Disadvantages of Breast Implants

• Insertion of foreign material (silicone at Centre for Surgery)
• Can increase size as desired taking various factors into consideration 
• Involves a 3-5 cm length incision
• The potential risk of rupture or capsular contracture
• May experience loss of sensation, temporary or long-term

All patients should be in good health and have realistic expectations about what can be achieved with natural breast augmentation surgery.

We do not treat patients below the age of 18 years of age.

Healing is better if patients refrain from or quit smoking.

Fat transfer to breasts is ideal for people who want subtle natural-looking enhancements of the breasts. However, the individual has to have enough body fat to be transferred to the breasts.

We recommend breast augmentation with implants to individuals who do not have enough fat in their bodies to go ahead with fat transfer to breasts. We may also have to refuse the procedure to individuals considering to have children as pregnancy and childbirth can affect the results.

Prior to the surgery, you will have a consultation with one of our surgeons.

The decision to have a fat transfer to breasts is a major step for most women and is extremely personal. The surgeon therefore always guides and supports his prospective patients through every stage of this process. During an initial consultation at our clinic, you will discuss your reasons for wanting this procedure and will undergo a thorough medical check-up.

The consultation begins by having an opportunity to discuss your ideas, concerns, and expectations about the natural breast augmentation procedure with your surgeon, and ask any relevant questions you may have.

The breast augmentation with fat transfer procedure takes approximately 2 to 3 hours to carry out but depends on how complex your case is and whether fat is being harvested from more than one area of the body. Once your surgeon has taken a full medical history and carried out a physical examination, they will be able to advise what the procedure will involve and how long the procedure would be expected to take.

The fat transfer to breasts procedure is performed by highly skilled breast augmentation experts who will utilise fat deposits from a donor area and transfer it to the breasts for a natural enhancement.

Liposuction is first performed on the donor area to collect the best quality fat cells to be transferred. At Centre for Surgery, liposuction is performed using the PAL lipo method. 

The fat is collected in a filter to purify it and then collected in multiple syringes. Once this is done the fat is injected back into the breasts.

When will I see results from the fat transfer to breasts procedure?

The results are immediately noticeable after the procedure. There will be a degree of swelling during the postoperative period and this is often related to the initial infiltration of local anaesthetic during the procedure. This will settle over the course of a couple of weeks. In all fat transfer procedures, there will be some fat loss despite expert surgical techniques. It is realistic to expect 60-75% fat survival in breast fat transfer procedures. The breasts will continue to improve in appearance over a course of 3-6 months and this is related to soft tissue remodelling to accommodate the extra fat volume. At the postoperative 3-6 month stage, the results are considered to be permanent and the fat transferred will be part of the normal breast tissue. Your surgeon will take postoperative photographs at your 3-month appointment which can be compared against the preoperative photographs.

Once full healing has taken place, you can decide in conjunction with your surgeon if you are entirely happy with the volume and shape of your new breasts or whether you would like more volume with a small top-up procedure. It is important to note that the breast tissue will be affected most by future pregnancies and breastfeeding and to a lesser degree by the ageing process and changes in weight. If you are affected by these factors then a further top-up procedure may be warranted to achieve the results you are looking for. Where the degree of breast ptosis or sagging is moderate to severe then a breast lift procedure may be more appropriate to correct the change in shape. The results after fat transfer to the breasts are most evident in the first few weeks after surgery once any initial swelling and bruising have resolved. Final results will appear over the course of 3- months as the fat becomes permanently part of your existing breast tissue.

Following the surgery, there will be some swelling and bruising for the first few weeks that will fade away over time. The result will be noticeable after the swelling has gone down. We recommend our patients to avoid any strenuous activity for at least 4 to 6 weeks for the area treated to heal fully.

Fat transfer to breasts can help achieve one whole cup size with a very natural looking result.

The achievable result will depend on the surgeon’s skills to obtain best quality fat and equally the patient’s ability to retain the transferred fat cells. Some fat cells will be absorbed naturally by the body and cannot be prevented. Ageing will also have an impact on the result achieved.

Fat transfer to the breasts requires a period of about three months to allow the newly transferred fat to be permanently incorporated into the breasts. During the initial period of healing, the intended final size and shape of the breasts may not be apparent until the fat has been fully incorporated after three months. It is generally accepted that approximately 60 to 70% of transferred fat into the breasts will survive in the long term. The remaining fact that has been injected gets naturally broken down and then subsequently reabsorbed by your body through natural processes.

Everyone heals differently and therefore the final result varies from person to person. Are your face-to-face consultation with one of our plastic surgeons, you will get to view a range of breast augmentation with that transfer before and after photos. They should give you a clearer idea of what your breasts could look like following the fat transfer breast enlargement procedure based on what other patients have achieved with their procedure.