Have you ever heard or seen someone say, “I wish I could take this *grabs hips* and put it here *grabs breast*.” Well, that’s the general idea behind fat grafting, including natural breast augmentation at our St. Louis-area practice.
This process, also known as fat transfer, uses liposuction to remove fat from one area of the body, that fat is then processed and re-injected into another area of the body. Areas the fat can be taken from include:
- Abdomen
- Back
- Flanks
- Thighs
- Arms
Areas the fat can be transferred to include:
- Breasts
- Buttocks
- Hips
- Cheeks
- Lips
- Under the eyes
The American Society of Plastic Surgeons offers additional information about using fat transfer for breast augmentation.
How much fat do you need for a fat transfer?
The exact amount is dependent on the patient. In this procedure, Dr. Diederich is only able to transfer a certain amount of fat at a time. If too much fat is transferred at once, an increased amount of the fat cells likely will not survive. This is a downside because, depending on the patient’s goals, they may require more than one surgery to reach their desired size.
Does fat transfer go away?
The fat that survives the injection process is permanent. It is still fat so it may change some with weight fluctuations, but the fat cells will always be there. This is the same as for the area where the fat was taken from; the fat cells left behind may fluctuate size with weight changes, but there will never be additional fat cells.
How long is recovery from fat transfer?
Recovery is a two-fold process. The first is recovery in the areas from which the fat was taken. Liposuction requires a compression garment for at least 6 weeks after the procedure. Patients also swell after liposuction, and it may take a few months for all the swelling to go down and to truly see final results. The second part is recovery for the areas where the fat was transferred. These areas need to be free of compression for the first 6 weeks. The less compression, the more likely the fat will survive. If the patient is getting a BBL, it is best not to sit on their buttocks for 6 weeks.
Each patient is different so we always suggest coming in for a consultation with our experienced plastic surgeon in Glen Carbon, IL, for a personalized assessment of what we can do for you. To schedule, please give us a call at 618-288-7855, option 4, or use our online form to request a consultation.
MidAmerica Plastic Surgery is located in Glen Carbon, IL, only 15 minutes from Downtown St. Louis.
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