During fat grafting, fat is harvested by liposuction from a part of the body where it is unwanted and then transferred into an area to add volume or correct a contour problem. Advantages of fat grafting include using your own fatty tissues rather than a foreign body injectable and the added benefit of having liposuction remove fat from an area where you don’t want it.
Usually, 40-50% of the injected fat goes away within several months, and so additional fat grafting may be required several months later. Currently, we are using fat grafting to correct contour deformities following lumpectomy or mastectomy with reconstruction. Patients must be cancer free for at least one year before undertaking fat grafting to the breast to correct contour problems following lumpectomy. Fat grafting may be performed in the office under local anesthesia or under general anesthesia in an operating room.
To learn more about fat grafting and breast reconstruction, review photos, or find out which procedure is right for you, please visit us online at westcountyplasticsurgeons.wustl.edu.