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 an answer to this question. This is breast augmentation with fat. That is, bust lipofilling known to most women. It is about this procedure: its advantages and disadvantages that we will talk today.
Fat grafting under a microscope
The method is based on "catching two birds with one stone":
- Removal of fatty tissue from problem areas of the body.
- Their transplantation into the area of the mammary glands.
Thus, you get a lush bust and a slender line of the hips, legs or a toned tummy. It is from these places that the very necessary fat is extracted. Surgeons advise using the liposuction method. Body shaping by removing or introducing one's own fat accumulations has been practiced for more than a century. Modern technologies make it as safe as possible for patients.
The main condition for a positive result from this procedure is to keep the adipose tissue viable during their transfer. "Dead fat" not only will not improve your shape by dissolving. But it can also provoke the growth of connective tissue at the site of transplantation (fibrosis).
And this process significantly complicates the hardware methods of studying the state of the mammary glands and can cause overdiagnosis of the growth of neoplasms in this area. That is, the question of proper liposuction and proper 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, albeit a mini one. It can be performed under local or general anesthesia. The former is preferred for the patient's cardiovascular system. Its main advantages are:
- minimal invasiveness / trauma (compared to endoprosthetics);
- high survival rate of "donor" tissues;
- minimal risk of allergization (compared to the introduction of fillers, even based on hyaluron). Allergy may be to anesthetic drugs;
- lack of visually recognizable scars, even thin scars;
- the ability to "order" the shape of the breast, after a few months repeat the procedure if necessary to increase the bust by more than 1 size, remodel the breast if necessary;
- restore asymmetry in congenital / acquired defect of forms;
- using your own fat is permissible even when other methods are contraindicated;
- to correct the shape of the breast after removal of the implant, operations on the mammary gland. This opportunity is often used by older patients and young women when it is impossible to replace / install an endoprosthesis (for example, an allergy to the material);
- relatively short rehabilitation period;
- complete naturalness of the forms of the mammary glands after manipulation and natural sensations on palpation;
- an additional bonus from the procedure is tissue rejuvenation at the site of adipose material injection.
The adherents of the method assure that fat grafting provides a long-term, almost lifelong result. Opponents say that a second procedure will be required in a maximum of 2 years. The truth is, every organism is unique. With good tissue engraftment, the result can last for 5-10 years. Provided that you will not gain and lose weight or become pregnant.
After pregnancy, correction is likely to be needed. But there are also known cases when in some patients the actually injected adipose tissues were absorbed in 1. 5-2 years. And the volumes returned to the previous unsatisfactory ones.
Before deciding on the procedure or abandoning it, evaluate the results of increasing the bust with your own fat in the photo.
Limitations of lipofilling
Increasing the bust with your fat has a number of limitations and disadvantages:
- the ability to increase the volume by 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 slender women (lack of material);
- the presence of contraindications (absolute and relative);
- the possibility of the death of a part of the fatty material during its introduction and the development of foci of fibrosis in this zone, which reduces the reliability of hardware methods for examining the breast;
- a little preparation is required before lipofilling (quitting smoking, drinking alcohol, taking medications that affect blood coagulation).
An additional disadvantage of the procedure is its relative high cost. If repeated courses of fat injection are required, it can be more expensive than endoprosthetics.
Indications for the procedure
The introduction of subcutaneous fat from other parts of the body into the breast is shown:
- with a lack of tissue for implantation of the prosthesis (covering its edges with the existing tissue);
- a woman's unwillingness to resort to endoprosthetics;
- the need for a small correction in case of deterioration of the tissue condition after pregnancy, breastfeeding, hormonal crisis, sharp weight loss.
Some women practice lipofilling as a trial intervention. They look at how the breast will look like, how much it should be enlarged before deciding on endoprosthetics.
When is the procedure not recommended?
Absolute contraindications include:
- with serious somatic ailments (heart disease);
- mental disorders;
- endocrine ailments (diabetes);
- with the growth of tumors;
- some systemic diseases;
- blood pathology.
To refrain from changing forms with your own fat for a while you should:
- during menstrual bleeding;
- with chronic pathologies during an exacerbation;
- in the case of an infectious disease (in its acute period);
- during pregnancy and lactation. You can return to the issue of breast augmentation 12 months after you stop breastfeeding.
Upon recovery, achieving a stable remission and cessation of menstruation, lipofilling for relatively healthy women becomes quite affordable. You should not enlarge your breasts in this way if you are addicted to cigarettes. Smoking has a very bad effect on the durability of the result of the procedure.
Lipofilling stages
The very manipulation of changing the size of the bust with the help of your fat takes place in 3 stages:
- sampling of material (liposuction);
- cleaning it from impurities (for example, blood);
- actually lipofilling or "pumping" of the breast with subcutaneous fat, removed with the help of vacuum suction from problem areas.
A few hours after the procedure, the patient can safely go home.
Rehabilitation
The rehabilitation period involves:
- wearing special underwear, then a bra with wide straps to prevent mastoptosis (fabrics must "get used" to the new weight and volume of the breast);
- limiting physical activity;
- avoiding temperature exposure;
- refusal from manual impact on the chest area for 1-2 months after the procedure.
After lipofilling, discomfort may be felt for the first time in the breast area, the breast may swell a little, and hematomas form in the puncture area. These phenomena are classified as normal. They pass on their own rather quickly. The period of primary rehabilitation 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 evaluate the result of lipofilling in six months.