Have you come across such an incomprehensible term as fat grafting and want to know what kind of procedure? There is nothing easier than getting this question answered. It is breast augmentation with fat. That is to say the bust lipofilling known to most women. It is about this procedure: its advantages and disadvantages that we will discuss today.
Fat grafting under the microscope
The method is based on "killing two birds with one stone":
- Removal of fatty tissue from problem areas of the body.
- Their transplantation in the region of the mammary glands.
Thus, you get a lush bust and a slender line of the hips, legs or a toned stomach. It is from these places that the much needed fat is extracted. Surgeons advise using the liposuction method. Shaping the body by removing or introducing its own accumulations of fat has been practiced for over a century. Modern technologies make it as safe as possible for patients.
The main condition for a positive result of this procedure is to maintain viable fatty tissue during their transfer. The "dead fat" not only will not improve your shape by dissolving. But it can also cause connective tissue to grow at the transplant site (fibrosis).
And this process significantly complicates the physical methods of studying the condition of the mammary glands and can cause overdiagnosis of the growth of neoplasms in this area. That is, the issue of proper liposuction and transplantation is by no means far-fetched. In order for the procedure to be successful, it is carried out under sterile conditions using special equipment.
At all stages of its implementation, contact of adipose tissue with oxygen is not allowed in order to avoid oxidation of the latter.
Advantages of the procedure
Lipofilling is an operation, admittedly minimal. It can be performed under local or general anesthesia. The former is preferred for the cardiovascular system of the patient. Its main advantages are:
- minimal invasiveness / trauma (compared to stents);
- high survival rate of "donor" tissues;
- minimal risk of allergy (compared to the introduction of fillers, even based on hyaluron). The allergy may be to anesthetic drugs;
- absence of visually recognizable scars, even fine scars;
- the possibility of "ordering" the shape of the breast, after a few months repeat the operation if necessary to increase the bust by more than one size, reshape the breast if necessary;
- restore asymmetry in congenital / acquired defects of forms;
- the use of your own fat is allowed even when 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 elderly patients and young women when it is impossible to replace / install a stent (for example, an allergy to the material);
- relatively short rehabilitation period;
- complete naturalness of the forms of the mammary glands after handling and natural sensations on palpation;
- an additional benefit of the procedure is the rejuvenation of the tissues at the site of fat injection.
Followers of the method assure that fat grafting provides a long-term, almost lifelong result. Opponents claim that a second procedure will be necessary within a maximum period of 2 years. The truth is that every organism is unique. With a good tissue transplant, the result can last for 5 to 10 years. Provided that you don't gain or lose weight or get pregnant.
After pregnancy, correction will likely be necessary. But there are also known cases where, in some patients, the fatty tissue actually injected has been absorbed within 1. 5-2 years. And the volumes returned to unsatisfactory precedents.
Before deciding on the procedure or giving it up, evaluate the results of increasing the bust with your own fat in the photo.
Limits of lipofilling
There are a number of limitations and drawbacks to increasing the breast with your fat:
- the ability to increase the volume of only 0. 5-1 size per procedure (pump in about 150-200 ml of fat);
- the risk of resorption of the injected fat after 0. 5-2 years;
- difficulty of surgery for very thin women (lack of equipment);
- the presence of contraindications (absolute and relative);
- the possibility of the death of part of the fat during its introduction and the development of foci of fibrosis in this area, which reduces the reliability of material methods of breast examination;
- a small preparation is necessary before lipofilling (stopping smoking, drinking alcohol, taking drugs that affect blood coagulation).
An additional disadvantage of the procedure is its relatively high cost. If repeated cycles of fat injection are required, it can be more expensive than stents.
Indications for the procedure
The introduction of subcutaneous fat from other parts of the body into the breast is illustrated:
- with a lack of tissue for implantation of the prosthesis (covering its edges with the existing tissue);
- a woman's reluctance to use stents;
- the need for a small correction in case of deterioration of the state of tissues after pregnancy, breastfeeding, hormonal crisis, sudden weight loss.
Some women perform lipofilling as a trial procedure. They consider what the breast will look like, how much it should be enlarged before deciding on a stent.
When is the procedure not recommended?
Absolute contraindications include:
- with serious somatic conditions (heart disease);
- mental disorders;
- endocrine disorders (diabetes);
- with the growth of tumors;
- certain systemic diseases;
- blood pathology.
To avoid changing shape with your own fat for a while, you need to:
- during menstrual bleeding;
- with chronic pathologies during an exacerbation;
- in case of infectious disease (in its acute period);
- during pregnancy and lactation. You can come back to the question of breast augmentation 12 months after stopping breastfeeding.
After recovery, achieving stable remission and stopping menstruation, lipofilling for relatively healthy women becomes quite affordable. You shouldn't enlarge your breasts this way if you are addicted to cigarettes. Smoking has a very bad effect on the durability of the result of the procedure.
Lipofilling steps
The actual manipulation of the bust size change using your fat takes place in 3 steps:
- removal of material (liposuction);
- cleanse it of impurities (for example, blood);
- in fact lipofilling or "pumping" of the breast with subcutaneous fat, removed by vacuum suction from the problem areas.
A few hours after the procedure, the patient can go home safely.
Rehabilitation
The rehabilitation period includes:
- wearing special underwear, followed by a bra with wide straps to prevent mastoptosis (the tissues must "get used" to the new weight and volume of the breast);
- limit physical activity;
- avoid exposure to temperature;
- refusal of manual impact on the chest for 1-2 months after the procedure.
After lipofilling, a first discomfort may be felt in the breast, the breast may swell a little and bruises may form in the puncture area. These phenomena are classified as normal. They pass on their own quite quickly. The primary rehabilitation period ends in 2-4 weeks.
Until the puncture sites heal, they are treated with a local antiseptic as directed by a doctor. It will be possible to fully appreciate the result of lipofilling in six months.