Natural Versus Implant Breast Augmentation

"Natural" breast augmentation is performed by transferring fat to breasts from another part or the patient's body. Fat transfer has been used in cosmetic and reconstructive surgery for a number of years.

Initially used in facial cosmetic procedures it is being used more in cosmetic breast surgery to provide enlargement and avoiding the need for implants. It seems like a great idea but there are limitations to the technique and not every patient is a suitable candidate.

Extra desire is created as the fat is harvested by liposuction from a prominent fat deposit, for example from the tummy or hips, so effectively the patient gets two cosmetic improvements at the same time. In 2009, the American Society of Plastic Surgeons released a report detailing the use of fat transfer and injection for reconstructive and cosmetic purposes, offering guiding principles to surgeons and patients about the use of fat transfer for natural breast augmentation.

The report noted that physicians and surgeons have been using fat transfer successfully for more than one hundred years to treat cosmetic defects, and that natural breast augmentation is just one way of applying these successful techniques.

Lipoaugmentation of the breast is an appealing concept for patient and surgeon - soft, supple and natural and presumably safe, but is it? Fat augmentation for breast enlargement remains highly controversial for a number of reasons: - fat injected into the breast may calcify and interfere with future cancer surveillance through mammograms - grafted fat contains stem cells and stimulatory substances that potentially can cause breast cancer to develop - injection of fat into breast tissue can cause cyst formation and infection - consideration needs to be given to the results and size of enlargement as the procedure is labour intensive, may require two or three sessions of surgery and anesthesia, plus the resulting expense is more than for an implant based breast enlargement - cosmetic surgery journals suggest this procedure carries liability for the surgeon decades after the procedure due to the unknown factors listed above Despite all of these concerns, fat transfer to cosmetically enlarge breasts is an appealing procedure.

There needs to be more research showing success and safety before "natural" breast enlargement is accepted as a routine cosmetic surgery procedure. Until then, implant based breast augmentation remains the surgery of choice for cosmetic breast enlargement. If you have any specific requests regarding cosmetic surgery topics that you would like discussed on this blog, please feel free to email me: chris@breast-body.co.nz