Have you come across such an incomprehensible term as fat transplantation and you want to know what kind of procedure? There is nothing easier than getting an answer to this question. This is breast augmentation with fat. That said, breast lipofilling is familiar to most women. It is about this procedure: its advantages and disadvantages, which we are going to discuss today.
Fat graft under the microscope
The method is based on "catching two birds with one stone":
- Removal of fatty tissue from problem areas of the body.
- Your transplant in the area of the mammary glands.
This will give you a generous bust and a slim line in your hips, legs or a tight stomach. It is from these places that the very necessary fat is obtained. Surgeons recommend liposuction. Body shaping by removing or introducing accumulations of autologous fat has been practiced for more than a century. Modern technologies make it as safe as possible for patients.
The main condition for a positive result of this procedure is to keep the adipose tissue viable during the transfer. Not only will "dead fat" improve your shape by not dissolving it. But it can also provoke the growth of connective tissue at the transplant site (fibrosis).
And this process greatly complicates the hardware methods of studying the condition of the mammary glands and can lead to overdiagnosis of the growth of neoplasms in this area. That said, the question of the right liposuction and the right transplant is by no means far-fetched. In order for the procedure to be successful, it is carried out under sterile conditions using special equipment.
In all stages of its implementation, contact of adipose tissue with oxygen is not allowed in order to avoid its oxidation.
Advantages of the procedure
Lipofilling is an operation, albeit a mini-operation. It can be performed under local or general anesthesia. The former is preferred for the patient's cardiovascular system. Its main advantages are:
- minimal invasiveness / trauma (compared to endoprosthetics);
- high survival rate of "donor" tissues;
- minimal allergy risk (compared to the introduction of fillers, also based on hyaluron). Allergy can occur to anesthetics;
- Lack of visually recognizable scars, even thin scars;
- the ability to "arrange" the shape of the breast, after a few months, repeat the process if necessary to increase the breast by more than 1 size, reshape the breast if necessary;
- Restoration of asymmetry in the case of congenital / acquired shape defects;
- the use of autologous fat is allowed even if other methods are contraindicated;
- to correct the shape of the breast after removal of the implant, operations on the mammary gland. Such an opportunity is often used by older patients and young women when it is impossible to replace / install an endoprosthesis (e. g. an allergy to the material);
- relatively short rehabilitation period;
- complete naturalness of the shapes of the mammary glands after manipulation and natural sensations when palpating;
- An added bonus of the procedure is the rejuvenation of tissue at the injection site of the adipose tissue.
The followers of the method ensure that the fat transplant will provide a long-term, almost lifelong result. Opponents say that a second trial will be required in a maximum of 2 years. The truth is that every organism is unique. With a good tissue transplant, the result can last for 5-10 years. Provided you are not going to gain or lose weight or get pregnant.
Correction is likely to be needed after pregnancy. However, cases are also known in which in some patients the actually injected fat tissue was resorbed within 1. 5-2 years. And the volumes returned to the previous unsatisfactory ones.
Before deciding on the procedure or giving up, evaluate the results of breast augmentation with your own fat in the photo.
Limits of lipofilling
Enlarging the breast with your fat has a number of limitations and disadvantages:
- the ability to increase the volume by only 0. 5-1 size per operation (pump in about 150-200 ml of fat);
- the risk of resorption of the injected fat after 0, 5-2 years;
- Difficulty of the operation in very slim women (lack of material);
- the presence of contraindications (absolute and relative);
- the possibility of death of part of the fatty material during its introduction and the development of foci of fibrosis in this zone, which reduces the reliability of hardware methods of examining the breast;
- Before lipofilling, a little preparation is needed (stop smoking, drink alcohol, take drugs that affect blood clotting).
An additional disadvantage of the process is its relatively high cost. If repeated fat injections are required, it can be more expensive than endoprosthetics.
Indications for the procedure
The introduction of subcutaneous fat from other parts of the body into the breast is shown:
- with a lack of tissue for implantation of the prosthesis (covering its edges with the existing tissue);
- a woman's unwillingness to resort to arthroplasty;
- the need for a small correction in case of deterioration in the condition of tissues after pregnancy, lactation, hormonal crisis, severe weight loss.
Some women practice lipofilling as an experimental intervention. They look at what the breast will look like, how much it should be enlarged before deciding on an endoprosthesis.
When is the procedure not recommended?
Absolute contraindications are:
- with severe somatic complaints (heart diseases);
- mental disorders;
- endocrine diseases (diabetes);
- with the growth of tumors;
- some systemic diseases;
- Pathology of the blood.
In order not to refrain from changing the form with autologous fat for a while, you should:
- during menstrual bleeding;
- with chronic pathologies during an exacerbation;
- in the case of an infectious disease (in its acute phase);
- during pregnancy and breastfeeding. You can return to breast augmentation 12 months after you stop breastfeeding.
After recovery, stable remission and cessation of menstruation, lipofilling becomes quite affordable for relatively healthy women. You shouldn't enlarge your breasts this way if you are a cigarette addict. Smoking has a very bad influence on the shelf life of the procedural result.
Lipofilling phases
The actual manipulation of breast size with the help of your fat occurs in 3 stages:
- Sampling of material (liposuction);
- Cleaning of contaminants (e. g. blood);
- actually lipofilling or "pumping" the breast with subcutaneous fat that is removed from problem areas with the help of vacuum suction.
A few hours after the procedure, the patient can safely go home.
rehabilitation
The rehabilitation phase includes:
- Wearing special underwear, then a bra with wide straps to prevent mastoptosis (fabrics have to "get used" to the new weight and volume of the breast);
- Restriction of physical activity;
- Avoidance of temperature effects;
- Refusal of manual impact on the chest area for 1-2 months after the procedure.
After lipofilling, there may be discomfort in the chest area for the first time, the chest may swell a little and hematomas form in the puncture area. These phenomena are classified as normal. They go away on their own pretty quickly. The primary rehabilitation period ends in 2-4 weeks.
Until the puncture sites have healed, they are treated with a local antiseptic as directed by a doctor. In six months it will be possible to fully assess the result of the lipofilling.