How Breast Fat Transfer Is Performed

Fat transfer has three main stages: harvesting, processing and injection. Surgeons differ in technique, and there is no single method that has been proven best for every patient.

1. Planning

The surgeon examines your breasts and donor areas, discusses your goals and marks the areas to be treated. Photographs are usually taken for your records. The plan should include how much fat is likely to be needed and whether one session is realistic.

2. Harvesting

Fat is collected by liposuction through small incisions, often under general anaesthesia, though some cases use sedation or local anaesthesia. The surgeon uses gentle techniques intended to protect the fat cells. Common donor areas are the abdomen, flanks and thighs.

3. Processing

The harvested fat is prepared by methods such as washing, filtering or centrifuging to separate usable fat from fluid, oil and debris. There is no single agreed method, and evidence on which is best is still developing.

4. Injection

The fat is injected in many small amounts through tiny entry points, at different depths in the breast. Spreading small amounts helps each deposit get a blood supply. Overfilling can reduce survival and raise complications.

5. Dressings

The small wounds are covered and a supportive garment may be advised for the donor areas. Avoid pressure on the breasts as directed, because compression may affect the transferred fat.

Time and setting

The operation commonly takes a few hours, depending on the extent of liposuction and treatment. It is usually done in a hospital or accredited facility by a surgeon with experience in both liposuction and breast surgery.

Some surgeons use pre-expansion

A suction device worn before surgery is used by some surgeons to prepare the breast tissue. Evidence and experience vary, so ask whether it is advised for you and what it adds.

Scars and donor sites

Liposuction entry points and breast injection sites leave small scars. Donor-site bruising and contour changes may take weeks to settle, and the amount of fat removed affects recovery.

Questions to ask

• Where will you take fat from, and how much?
• How do you process and inject it?
• What anaesthesia will be used, and by whom?
• How many sessions might be needed?