Fat tissue to fill in around implant

B123

Has anyone here had their implants in and later gone back for scar revision? My effected side is flatter then the other side. I also have a lot of scaring on sides. My PS wants to do liposuction and fill in areas with fat tissue. She said it will be smoother and rounder. Has anyone done this, how does it work and is it safe to put fat tissue?
thank yo

MinusTwo

B123 - go to the 'search' site and enter fat grafting.

OnTarget

I'm scheduled for it next week, we'll see how it goes! It is hard to envision it...

B123

minustwo thank you!!

On target, good luck to you!! Please let me know how it goes.

Anonymous

I did this a year after my BMX/immediate recon. It wasn't very difficult; outpatient- and just some bruising from the sites where my surgeon took fat that faded after a couple of weeks. They only take a few oz. from my abdomen area. It wasn't painful afterward and my radiated breast in particular looked better afterward-I can't remember what it looked like actually but my breasts weren't as symmetrical. My surgeon said it was completely safe, and I trust him.

Claire in AZ

B123

claireinaz, I’m so glad it worked for you and thank you for letting me know the details with recovery. Does the fat clump up and form bumps anywhere? How long can implants with fat grafting last?

raleighgirl

b123,

I have had fat grafting once(two and a half years ago) and am doing it again next week. Had to take a break because I got pregnant and had a baby.

I have implants and one side was radiated. The radiated side did not take the fat well. It did form round clumps that looked like marbles underneath my skin. It took several months for them to reabsorb and I was pretty disappointed. The non radiated side looked phenomenal though. So I’m taking another chance to see if the second time is the charm for that radiated side.

Really though, the nonradiated side looks amazing and the fat grafting made such a difference.

B123

raleighgirl, congrats on your baby! So that is what I’m worried about, the effected side is tight so I’m worried about clumping. Did iteventually smooth out a bit or just stayed bumpy? Just tired of going through it all.. I also have a lipoma in rib cage under neath left breast that has been very slowly growing. So with the liposuction, I can remove it.

Lexica

Thanks for this thread - I am looking into this too. I have prepectoral implants though, and the PS is worried about how close the implant is to the skin and possibly puncturing it. Anyone have prepectoral implants and get this done?

raleighgirl

b123,

it did eventually smooth out and the lumps were reabsorbed. It did take a while. My surgeon said it can take several tries before it “takes". I'm so over it. I am very thin but I think I he will take again from my love handle area. Next week is my third revision(second fat grafting and I pray it's my last!

SimoneRC

Hi Lexica!

I have pre pectoral implants, thin skin and have had fat grafting twice with no problems at Hopkins. They did not mention any risk of puncturing the implants. You should be just fine with a plastic surgeon who is experienced with pre-pectoral reconstruction.

Good luck!

B123

raleighgirl, if all is taking well and reabsorbed.. why so many revisions?

Lexica, as long as the surgeon is experienced in this I wouldn’t worry. If they have any question concerns, maybe move on to another?

B123

why does everyone have the fat grafting multi times? Just wondering what happens that the first does not work fully?

B123

My fear is that the fat grafting will eventually fall apart and/or cancer cells will form? Is this something anyone has heard?

raleighgirl

b123,

I have only had fat grafting once. The non radiated side took most of the fat. The radiated side formed into fat necrosis which looked like the marbles underneath my skin. What I mean by “reabsorbed” is that the fat eventually just disappeared. It did not even out or anything. The marble areas just went away and I was left with no fat at all. So I still have a hollow. My new surgeon said part of the problem could have been that my last surgeon puttoo much fat in, and that you have to use the fat very sparingly on the radiated side so that it doesn’t cause necrosis. I am hoping that this surgeon’s technique is better. He said it can take multiple tries on the radiated side to get the desired result.

B123

oh geez, Probably because of the tightness of the skin, I’m guessing? I don’t know that I want to go this route then? There has to be another way. Just tired of it all.. sounds like this surgeon is more knowledgeable, I’m sure it will work for you!

B123

so does anyone have any regrets with fat grafting? Is there any other options?Does insurance cover it?

LiveLoveLaugh2020

I've only had it once with my exchange four weeks ago. So I can't really answer that question as it's still early and I don't know what the implants looked like without the FG because it was done at the same time. But my PS said that the FG did fill in a big indent I had nicely, so I guess it was worth it. Insurance does cover it. I've been told I most likely can no longer have FG because my skin is so thin and no where to put it (wanted more due to rippling) but will see at 3 month follow up. If I still feel the same way I will get a second opinion.

B123

Livelovelaugh that’s great! Sounds like it worked for you. Did you have rads? Is the skin tighter? I wish mine was done all together, much easier. How was the recovery time

LiveLoveLaugh2020

No rads. Recovery time for me was 2 weeks. My outer thighs were used and they were very sore/bruised the first 2 weeks. But the pain is tolerable. Except for those first few days when you have to use the bathroom and dread pulling off those compression pants lol I think the recovery is much less if doing FG only.

OnTarget

LiveLove, that is so funny, I'm going through the same bathroom dread now. I'm like "oh, ouch, ooo, darn" the whole time getting the Spanx up and down! I'm sure I sound pretty funny.

I'll be happy when the bruising subsides!

DiveCat

Hi!

I have not had my fat grafting yet. I am scheduled to go in May: I recently had a swap to new silicone rounds and I have very thin skin so despite being sub-pec I have a few divots/ripples that are quite visible I would like to fill in.

From what I can see fat grafting has come a long way. You used to get a higher failure rate as the techniques and processing of the fat removed wasn't as great. My surgeon uses it not only for breast reconstruction but also for scar revisions from major traumas like car or workplace accidents. I have spent some time searching for photos of fat grafting for reconstruction and while they aren't easy to find on the “public web" the results are quite amazing. I have seen photos of women with the older radical mastectomies who received fat grafting to help fill in tissue between the skin and their ribs and the results look amazing.

The tissue is your own so ought to become just part of your tissue in the breast. My surgeon says with newer techniques that in his practice about 80% of the fat “stays". The idea is they put in a little more than they “need" to account for this. Of course like any other fat cells it will still be subject to extreme fluctuations of weight. This is all for non radiated tissue though, I do know radiated tissue is generally going to have higher risk of failure/complications.

LiveLoveLaugh2020

OnTarget....lol that's so funny. My bruising was pretty much gone by week 2 along with the pain! Hope your discomfort is getting better.

berries

I had my exchange yesterday with fat grafting from my stomach. So far, no bruising and minimal pain around my belly! My chest is sore and i still have not looked at the carnage, but will look and update you today. I had a Left Unilateral MX with a lift on my right side. Radiation will start in a few weeks.

hapa

I had fat grafting in December and it made very little difference. They only got 30ccs of fat off my abdomen, though I could have sworn I was fatter than that. For me it was kind of a waste.

LiveLoveLaugh2020

Berries I'm glad you're recovering well so far. Hope you are happy with your results. Remember it takes time, I have to keep telling myself that lol I'm only 5 weeks out.

Hapa same here, 30cc only. But I was told at post op that it filled in an indent during exchange so guess it was worth it. I'm learning most places don't like to FG too much at one time anyway with newer techniques for better fat survival.

DCISinAZ

I had UMX and had some fat grafting about a year ago. I am kind of wishing I had gone a little bit bigger. If I get some additional fat grafting can that make any measurable difference in size