Fat Injections for Breast Augmentation - Do They Work?

The notion seems like something from a woman’s fantasy – take the unwanted fat from thighs, hips or stomach, and place it in a location that could be fuller, such as the chest. Sometimes fat injections are used to create a more youthful facial appearance, but attempts have also been made to perform breast augmentation and reconstruction using fat injections. Despite the fact that a significant portion of a women’s natural breast is comprised of fat, there is some controversy surrounding fat injections for breast augmentation. We review expert opinions to get to the real truth about fat injection surgery.

 

 

While it has continued to be marketed as a two-in-one aesthetic plastic surgery procedure and a more natural alternative to silicone or saline implants, the debate has raged since its inception. In 1993, studies reported that fat injections could mask cancer and that they offered only temporary benefits as a breast augmentation procedure. Fat injections as a breast reconstruction and augmentation procedure are not a new idea in the cosmetic surgery industry, but controversy was renewed in 2008, when researchers recommended that breast augmentation via fat transfer needed more study for it.

 

Unfortunately there are no clear studies that can show that fat injections are a safe and effective means of increasing breast volume. Several studies have been done on reconstructions, and while the evidence shows that fat injections can certainly help cancer sufferers and partial mastectomy patients, there are no recognized, reliable studies that suggests that fat injections are useful in general cosmetic scenarios. Dallas Plastic surgeon William P. Adams Jr. told WebMD that "For breast reconstruction, there are some good data to support the safety and efficacy of fat injections, but for cosmetic use, it's a whole new ball game".

 

The truth is that too little is known about fat injections for breast augmentation to make any definitive comments. Those that are opposed to the procedure have as little data to support their arguments as proponents of fat injections for cosmetic breast augmentation do. What further complicates the issue is that surgeons are not able to provide patients with high quality information regarding which breast augmentation procedure to choose: saline, silicone, or fat injection. While it may make intuitive sense that harvesting and transplanting fat is a healthier and more natural way to augment the breast, it may not necessarily be the case. Further, transplanted fat, especially fat that has been harvested and purified from another source, lacks much of the structural integrity of normal fat or breast tissue.

 

As commercial demand drives the market and cosmetic surgeons to provide fat injections for breast augmentation, there will also be a push for larger clinical trials that include more patients followed for longer periods of time. With this information in hand, surgeons will be able to counsel their patients more appropriately and speak with authority about issues of fat injections for breast augmentation.