Breast augmentation with fat transfer

Breast Augmentation with Your Own Fat – When Your Own Tissue Creates New Balance and Natural Fullness

Breast augmentation with your own fat is an option for women who would like more fullness without breast implants. The treatment can also be used to correct breast asymmetry, create more fullness in the cleavage, or restore volume after removal of older breast implants.

The procedure may also be suitable for women who have areas of excess fat on the abdomen, hips or thighs that they would like reduced. In this way, gentle liposuction can be combined with breast volume enhancement, improving both breast shape and overall body contour in the same treatment.

At AGATA, the aim is not to create the greatest possible volume, but to use your own tissue to restore or add fullness in a natural and harmonious way.

The Consultation – Creating Balance Between the Breasts and the Body

During the consultation, we assess the size and shape of the breasts, skin quality and any asymmetry. We also consider which areas of the body are most suitable for harvesting fat, and whether the treatment would benefit from being combined with a breast lift or another breast procedure.

If you are considering removal of existing implants, we also assess the quality of the breast tissue, the degree of skin excess and how much volume can realistically be restored with your own fat.

In selected patients, mammography or ultrasound scanning may be recommended before surgery, among other reasons to provide a good baseline assessment of the breast tissue and any pre-existing calcifications.

How is the Procedure Performed?

The procedure begins with gentle liposuction from one or more areas where there is excess fat. This may, for example, be the abdomen, hips or thighs.

The harvested fat is purified and prepared before being carefully injected in small amounts and thin layers. The fat is distributed within appropriate tissue planes beneath the skin and around the breast tissue, but not into the breast gland itself.

By distributing the fat in many small amounts, the transplanted fat cells are given the best possible conditions to establish a blood supply and survive. At the same time, the fat can be used precisely to improve breast volume, contour, cleavage and symmetry.

When breast implants are replaced with your own fat, the implants are removed first. The fat is then distributed within different tissue layers, for example beneath the skin, above the implant capsule, beneath the breast tissue and, where appropriate, beneath the chest muscle. The aim is to recreate a soft and natural breast shape after implant removal.

The procedure typically takes around 2 hours. If a breast lift or a more extensive correction is performed at the same time, the operation will take longer.

How Much Larger Can the Breasts Become?

Breast augmentation with your own fat generally provides a more moderate and natural increase in volume than breast implants.

There is a biological limit to how much fat the breast can safely receive and support during a single treatment. Typically, one procedure may increase breast volume by approximately half a bra cup size, although the result varies from person to person.

A better result cannot be achieved simply by injecting more fat. If more fat is placed than the surrounding tissue can adequately supply with oxygen and blood, a greater proportion of the transplanted fat cells will not survive.

For this reason, we work with gradual volume enhancement while respecting the natural capacity of the tissue. If more fullness is desired, the treatment can be repeated once the result of the first procedure has stabilised.

Recovery

After surgery, swelling, tenderness and bruising may occur both in the breasts and in the areas where the fat has been harvested.

A supportive bra is typically worn for 4–6 weeks. The bra should not be tight and should not contain underwires. The breasts should not be massaged or exposed to unnecessary pressure during the first 4 weeks, so that the transplanted fat has the best possible conditions to establish itself.

Work can usually be resumed after 2–4 weeks, depending on the nature of your work and the extent of the procedure.

Smoking and Fat Survival

Smoking affects blood circulation and therefore reduces the ability of the transplanted fat cells to survive.

For this reason, complete smoking cessation is recommended in connection with the treatment. At AGATA, we recommend stopping smoking 6 weeks before and for 3 months after surgery.

Are There Risks?

As with all surgical procedures, there are risks. These may include bleeding, infection, asymmetry, partial loss of the transplanted volume and minor irregularities in the donor areas.

Following fat transfer, scar tissue, small fat cysts or calcifications may also develop within the breast tissue.

The final result therefore depends both on the surgical technique and on how much of the transplanted fat successfully establishes a stable blood supply.

What Can You Expect from the Result?

Breast augmentation with your own fat typically creates a soft and natural-looking breast, because the volume is created using your own tissue.

The result develops gradually. Some of the transplanted fat is naturally reabsorbed during the months following surgery, while the fat that survives becomes part of the breast’s own tissue.

With a stable body weight, the result can be long-lasting. As the transplanted fat cells behave like fat elsewhere in the body, significant changes in weight may also affect breast volume.

For some women, one treatment is sufficient. For others, the procedure can be repeated after a few months if additional volume or refinement of the shape is desired.