What is breast enlargement with fat transfer?

Breast enlargement with fat transfer involves transferring the fat from one area of the body to another with the aim of enlarging or enhancing the appearance of the breasts.

It can be used alone to increase volume or it can be used in addition to implants to improve breast shape (e.g. in the cleavage area) or make implants less visible. In order to be suitable, patients should have enough fat in areas like the tummy and buttocks. Patients using nicotine are generally not good candidates for this procedure. The success is dependent on the technique used and extensive training is required for surgeons performing this procedure.

Fat transfer involves injecting local anaesthetic into the areas where fat is to be taken from (donor areas). Using tiny incisions, fat is harvested (usually from your tummy or buttock area) using gentle suction.

There are different techniques that can then be used to process the fatty tissue and remove the parts like blood and oil that we don’t want. Finally, the fat is injected in small amounts to create lots of new tunnels of fat in the area that we want to enhance. Great care is needed during the injection of fat to avoid injuring nearby areas of the body or leaving big clumps of fat in a particular area that can then die.

There is a limit to the amount of fat that can be injected in a single session so it is important that patients know that sometimes they require repeat procedures with this technique.